[News] Israel’s “terrorist” designations aim to suppress Palestinian organizing: Confront them with action and resistance!

[Anti-Imperialist News]

samidoun posted: " Since the beginning of the year, Israeli war criminal 
and "Minister of Defense" Benny Gantz has repeatedly designated 
Palestinian and international organizations working to defend 
Palestinian rights and organize for Palestinian liberation as "terroris"


    New post on *Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network*

	


    Israel’s “terrorist” designations aim to suppress Palestinian
    organizing: Confront them with action and resistance!
    <https://samidoun.net/2021/10/israels-terrorist-designations-aim-to-suppress-palestinian-organizing-confront-them-with-action-and-resistance/>

by samidoun <https://samidoun.net/?author=1>

Photo: Joe Catron

Since the beginning of the year, Israeli war criminal and "Minister of 
Defense" Benny Gantz has repeatedly designated Palestinian and 
international organizations working to defend Palestinian rights and 
organize for Palestinian liberation as "terrorist." *Today, 22 October, 
Gantz designated six Palestinian organizations, all known for their 
defense of Palestinian human rights: Al-Haq, Addameer Prisoner Support 
and Human Rights Association, Defence for Children International 
Palestine, Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of 
Palestinian Women's Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work 
Committees.*

*This follows Gantz and the Israeli regime's designation of Samidoun 
<https://samidoun.net/2021/02/samidoun-we-will-not-be-silenced-by-israels-terrorist-designation/> 
as a "terrorist" organization on 21 February 2021.* In late August 2021, 
without issuing a press release, Gantz also designated EuroPal Forum, 
the International Legal Coalition for Palestine and the Popular 
Conference of Palestinians Abroad. *It is clear that the Israeli regime 
has fully adopted as standard practice and policy the "terrorist" 
designation of organizations that effectively challenge its control and 
expose its crimes on the local, regional and international levels.*

All of these designations are meant primarily as an attack on 
Palestinian organizing, research, agriculture, and the Palestinian 
prisoners' movement. *We express our full solidarity with all of the 
organizations designated in this manner and once again affirm that we 
will not be silenced or deterred by Israeli smear campaigns or attempted 
collective terror against Palestinians, Arabs and internationals 
struggling for justice.* *This repression must inspire us to organize 
more and build greater mutual defense and solidarity against all 
attempts to use the "terrorist" label to criminalize Palestinian 
resistance, action and organizing.*

Once again, the Israeli designations appear to essentially be 
copied-and-pasted from right-wing propaganda organizations like NGO 
Monitor that aim to shield Israel from international accountability by 
smearing and attacking Palestinian human rights defenders. Their shoddy 
reporting, baseless claims 
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181001-new-israel-report-exposes-role-of-ngo-monitor-in-defaming-rights-activists> 
and factual inaccuracies are part and parcel of their attempt to defend 
Israeli colonialism, military occupation, apartheid, siege and mass 
arbitrary detention of Palestine and the Palestinian people. These types 
of propaganda organizations have done so by attempting to prevent 
Palestinian non-governmental organizations from receiving grants; for 
example, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees has faced such 
attacks from these organizations in Australia, the Netherlands, and 
elsewhere.

Such "terrorist" designations can be used as a justification for 
arresting members, closing down organizations and centers or labeling 
the organizations "illegal" inside the occupied West Bank.*In our 
experience with this designation since February of this year, these 
designations are used as ammunition by Zionist "lawfare" groups in 
various countries in an attempt to create a climate of fear to undermine 
collective solidarity, cut off funding or access to banking, and silence 
advocates for justice, rights and liberation in Palestine at 
international venues.*

**

Through these designations, Israel has made clear that its definition of 
"terrorism" is any action that resists its colonialism throughout 
occupied Palestine. *In many cases, such as with today's designations of 
Addameer and DCI Palestine, as well as the existing designation of 
Samidoun, it is clear that this is an attempt to cut off Palestinian 
political prisoners -- including imprisoned children -- from growing 
legal, political and moral support and to attack the Palestinian 
prisoners' movement.* In the case of organizations like Al-Haq, it is 
clear that Israel wants to use the "terror" designation to provide 
itself with impunity from international prosecution, while the 
designations of organizations like Bisan, UPWC and UAWC aim to undermine 
and target Palestinian self-organization, research, and food sovereignty.

When Ben & Jerry's ice cream brand announced that it would simply no 
longer sell ice cream in the future to illegal colonial settlements 
following an extensive campaign by social justice and Palestinian rights 
organizations, Israeli president Isaac Herzog labeled even this attempt 
of a company to come in line with international law -- and all boycotts 
of Israel -- as "terrorist." 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/citing-ben-jerrys-snub-herzog-says-israel-boycotts-a-new-kind-of-terrorism/>

While this example is rhetorical, it indicates just how meaningless the 
term "terrorist" is in the hands of the Israeli regime. It means 
precisely any organization, activist, or freedom fighter that challenges 
Zionist colonialism through any method or means of resistance at all. 
The flurry of "terrorist" designations for organizations working to 
expose Israel's crimes and organize Palestinians underlines this reality.

*It further highlights exactly why all such designations should be 
considered propaganda stunts and tossed out by courts, governments, 
financial institutions and any other party called upon to repress 
Palestinian organizing on the basis of these bogus labels.* *Such 
designations have no international effect and do not require anyone to 
stop supporting these organizations.* *Instead, these designations must 
mobilize us to build greater popular support for Palestinian rights 
organizations designated by the Israeli occupation.*

Further, such designations should also inspire international advocates 
for Palestine and organizations concerned with justice and human rights 
to *adopt the boycott and international isolation of Israel*, which has 
once again -- as it has for over 73 years -- shown itself to be 
dedicated to the expulsion and suppression of the Palestinian people 
with complete disregard for any principles of law or justice.

As we noted in February 
<https://samidoun.net/2021/02/samidoun-we-will-not-be-silenced-by-israels-terrorist-designation/>, 
these designations are also an attempt to divert attention from the 
serious problem facing hundreds of Zionist officials – including Gantz 
himself – who are afraid from the next steps of the investigations by 
the International Criminal Court (ICC) after its last announcement on 5 
February 2021 affirming that it has the authority to investigate war 
crimes in the Palestinian occupied territories.

These designations are not attacks on individual organizations but 
against Palestinian human rights defenders and those around the world 
who stand up for Palestinian liberation -- and, fundamentally, the 
Palestinian people as a whole, especially the Palestinian prisoners in 
Israeli occupation prisons. They attempt to repress growing support for 
the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people and confrontation of 
imperialism and Zionism.

*We express our firm commitment to mutual defense and collective 
solidarity with all similarly targeted organizations working for a 
liberated Palestine. The primary way that we can confront these 
designations is by intensifying our organizing, action, mobilization and 
resistance to bring down the structures of colonialism, implement the 
right to return for Palestinian refugees, and support the liberation of 
all Palestinian prisoners and of Palestine, from the river to the sea.*

*We invite all who want to get involved in building this collective 
solidarity to get involved with our work at Samidoun. Click here to 
donate to support our work. <https://samidoun.net/donate/> To find out 
about becoming a member or building a chapter in your area, email us 
today at samidoun at samidoun.net*

**URL: https://wp.me/p2cx3f-cLb


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