Israeli forces raided the offices of several Palestinian interest groups, which they have described as terrorist organizations, in Ramallah in the early hours of Thursday, sealing front doors and leaving notices that they declared closed.
Israel said the groups were effectively operating as an arm of the terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a claim the groups denied. They accused Israel of silencing criticism of alleged human rights abuses.
On Wednesday night, Secretary of Defense Benny Gantz ratified the October 2021 decision to designate some of the organizations as terrorist groups affiliated with the PFLP: the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, the Bisan Research and Advocacy Center and Addameer, which represents Palestinian security prisoners at Israeli military courts.
Separately, the head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Central Command rejected appeals by the Palestinian rights organization Al-Haq and Defense for Children-International in Palestine, a group working on behalf of Palestinian children, to be removed from the terror list.
Other groups, including the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, also remain listed as affiliated with the PFLP.
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The IDF said Thursday morning that troops had overnight closed the offices of seven organizations in the West Bank and confiscated “properties of the terrorist organizations.”
?????????Breaking: This morning the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided Al-Haq’s office in Ramallah, confiscated items and closed the main entrance with an iron plate, leaving a military order declaring the organization illegal 1/ 2 pic.twitter.com/Y8yqRdU4Db
— Al-Haq الحق (@alhaq_org) August 18, 2022
“During the anti-terrorist activity, stones and Molotov cocktails were hurled at the soldiers, who responded with riot-busting tools,” the IDF added.
According to Al-Haq and DCI-P, troops seized “customer files”, welded the doors to their Ramallah offices shut and left notices declaring the organization illegal.
“They came, blew up the door, got in and tampered with the files,” Shawan Jabarin, director of al-Haq, told The Associated Press, adding that they are still checking to see if any documents were confiscated.
BREAKING: Israeli forces broke into our Ramallah office early this morning, confiscated client files, welded the door shut and left a notice ordering the organization to be shut down. #StandWithThe6 pic.twitter.com/QM4BBjBsLM
— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) August 18, 2022
Last year’s statement sparked a swift backlash worldwide, with criticism from the European Union, the Palestinian Authority, progressive US Democrats, US Jewish groups and international human rights organizations.
Most of the organizations involved document alleged human rights abuses by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which routinely detains Palestinian activists. Many have received significant funding in the form of grants from EU Member States and the United Nations, alongside other donors.
Representatives of the groups and international organizations have denied the allegations, accusing Israel of trying to silence criticism of alleged human rights abuses.
In July, nine EU member states said Israel had not confirmed its allegations and would continue to work with the groups concerned.
“These allegations are not new and Israel could not convince even its friends,” Jabarin said.
Shawan Jabarin, director of al-Haq human rights group, at the organization’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, October 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Jabarin said “neighbors and strangers” who were nearby during Thursday’s raid opened the Ramallah office once Israeli forces left, and that al-Haq staff were inside and resuming work.
“We do not accept permission from any Israeli military or political official. We move on, encouraged by our belief in accountability and international law,” he said.
The PA described the closure of the organizations as a “dangerous escalation” and said it was “an attempt to silence the voice of truth and justice”. Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official, said the PA will appeal to the international community to reopen the institutions.
The Department of Defense claimed that the organizations in question “operate under cover for the PFLP” and work “under the guise of conducting humanitarian activities in furtherance of the goals of the PFLP terrorist organization.”
“Organizations work to strengthen the organization and to recruit staff. They also help raise funds for the terrorist organization through a variety of methods including counterfeiting and fraud.”
“The five organizations are controlled by the PFLP, employ PFLP personnel in managerial and field positions, and operate to hide their affiliation with the terrorist organization for fear of security agencies in Israel and in the countries where they raise funds.”
תיעוד פלסטיני: כניסת כוחות הביטחון למטה “התנועה העולמית להגנה על” ילדי@GalAharonovich pic.twitter.com/E44YRxdhyO
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 18, 2022
NGO Monitor, which tracks anti-Israel nonprofits, said Gantz’s ratification was “in response to Europeans’ refusal to confront the evidence.”
“Even without classified information, the open-source information released by NGO Monitor clearly shows the links between the PFLP and EU-funded NGOs,” said Gerald Steinberg, the Monitor’s founder.
Both Israeli military and civil law prohibit supporting or joining a terrorist group, and violators can face years in prison. Israeli authorities can also seize assets from terrorist organizations and ban funding for their activities; Donors can also face significant prison terms.
Israeli authorities have previously accused the PFLP of stealing millions of euros from civil society organizations affiliated with its members to fund terrorist activities. In May last year, the Shin Bet arrested four suspects, including a Spanish national, believed to have funneled European funds to the PFLP.
Associated Press and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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