Israel

US Lawmakers Denounce Israel's Blacklisting of Palestinian NGOs

JUN 9 2022·Updated JUL 19 2022

Story

Image credit: AP Photo [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

A group of 21 Congressional Democrats has urged the Biden admin. to publicly reject Israel's labelling of six Palestinian human rights organizations as "terrorist" groups associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Al Jazeera
Israel first accused the NGOs of being associated with terrorism in Oct. 2021, after an earlier investigation by security agency Shin Bet alleged that they had raised and laundered money for the PFLP, as well as forged documents for them, recruited activists, and witnessed high-level meetings at their offices.
jpost
However, in a letter addressed to US Sec. of State Antony Blinken and Dir. of National Intelligence Avril Haines on Mon., the legislators said Israel lacked evidence against the organizations.
Al Jazeera
This comes as nine European countries also said last week that they saw "no substantial evidence" to support Israel's allegations against the organizations.
ABC News
Ayanna Pressley (D-Ma.), who spearheaded the letter, said on Twitter: "the US must condemn any effort, anywhere to undermine life-saving humanitarian work."
Al Jazeera
The NGOs in question are Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Al-Haq, Addameer, Union of Palestinian Women's Committees (UPWC), and Bisan.
NGOMonitor

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The Spin

Pro-Palestine narrative

The attacks against the NGOs - one of which focuses on protecting Palestinian children from state-backed violence - is a cynical attempt to stifle Palestinian rights and dissent. Calling out Israel's flagrant disregard for international norms and human rights is the right thing to do.

Al Jazeera

Pro-Israel narrative

There's no question that these "NGOs" are related to terrorism. There is a clear connection between a number of Palestinian NGOs and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which has killed innocent Israeli civilians in recent years.