Adala demands EU for collective decision against Israel's banning of Palestinian rights organisations

Human rights group Adalah yesterday called on the European Commission to take an official and unanimous position against Israel's designation of six Palestinian NGOs as "terrorist" organisations

July 23, 2022 - 06:29

Adala demands EU for collective decision against Israel's banning of Palestinian rights organisations

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Adalah's demand came after the foreign ministers of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain announced their continued support for the organisations following a review conducted by the EU's European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), which it said found "no suspicions of irregularities and/or fraud" and "did not find sufficient ground to open an investigation".

Adalah said in a statement that through the allegations, Tel Aviv had wanted to cut funding for the NGOs, to separate civil work from the Palestinian national struggle.

It also stressed the importance of stopping the Israeli occupation's narrative and claims that Palestinian organisations support "terror".

Despite the significance of the decision to resume support for the organisations, Adalah said it is important for the European Commission to reject the Israeli move and the restrictions exercised by the occupation government on Palestinian civil society institutions.

Yesterday Norway became the tenth European country to announce that it would continue to support the Palestinian organisations blacklisted by Israel over alleged terror ties.

"In Norway's view, the information we have received from Israel is not sufficient to justify the designation of the six organizations as 'terrorist organizations.' … Norway will continue its cooperation with and support to civil society in the occupied Palestinian territories," the embassy told Haaretz.

Israel designated six Palestinian civil groups as "terrorist organisations" in October last year and warned against working, dealing with or financially supporting them.

The offices of a number of the groups were later forced to close and many saw their funding cut.

Source: Middle East Monitor under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0