[News] Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Condemns and Demands International Community to Intervene Promptly after Israeli Occupation Forces Shut Down 7 CSOs in Ramallah

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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PCHR Condemns and Demands International Community to Intervene Promptly
after Israeli Occupation Forces Shut Down 7 CSOs in Ramallah - Palestinian
Centre for Human Rights
August 18, 2022
------------------------------

*Date: 18 August 2022*

On Thursday dawn, 18 August 2022, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided
and closed 7 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Ramallah, and
confiscated some of its contents.  The decision came few hours after the
announcement of Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, 3 CSOs: Bisan Center
for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees
(UPWC), and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association as
“terrorist organizations”, for allegedly funding the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The decision was made after an appeal
submitted by these organizations against a previous decision issued last
October labeling 6 CSOs as terrorist organization was rejected.

According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR), Today at dawn, large number of IOF moved into Ramallah and
Al-Bireh, where they raided 7 CSOs and human rights organizations and
confiscated most of their contents. Afterwards, they welded shut with locks
and iron bars and affixed a military order issued by the military commander
to the doors, stating “necessary for region’s security, to counter
terrorism infrastructure, in all its parts, vehicles, organizations and
bodies, and to thwart acts of terrorism and strike the terrorism
infrastructure, I am ordering to close this place”. As a result, none of
those working in these organizations was able to see the extent of sabotage
there, or what was confiscated. The organizations closed are as follows:
the Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian
Women Committees (UPWC), Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights
Association, Al-Haq, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC),
Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, and the Union of Health Work
Committees (UHWC).

PCHR stresses that the closure is part of IOF’s systematic policy to polish
off the Palestinian civil society and undermine its role in supporting the
Palestinian resilience under the occupation.

PCHR hereby emphasizes that any assault on the civil society organizations
constitutes a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and
violates the Israeli occupation authorities’ obligations under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the
right to freedom of association in Article 22.

PCHR emphasizes that IOF adopts a systematic policy to tighten the screws
on the Palestinian CSOs that has started since the 2001 Durban Conference
against Racism in South Africa and escalated after the State of Palestine
had acceded to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2015.  These
restrictions included the prosecution of human rights activists, and
limiting their travel and movement, raiding and shutting down leading
organizations in the fields of human rights and services.

PCHR stresses that IOF’s pursuit, designation of Palestinian NGOs as
“terrorist”, and smear campaign against them aims at closing down these
organizations and drying up external donor funding; thus having only one
narrative and hiding the truth about IOF crimes committed in the oPt.

PCHR stresses that such practices are part of an old/new campaign against
the CSOs and human rights organizations because of its pioneering role in
exposing IOF’s violations and its international work, particularly at the
International Criminal Court (ICC).

PCHR indicates that such practices come at a time IOF’s violations against
Palestinian civilians at the height as the Palestinian CSOs countered the
silence about these violations with exposing IOF’s crimes and unprecedented
fierce campaign against the Palestinian people during the past 20 years.
For more than 6 months, those violations escalated and included outgrowing
settlement expansion, seizing Palestinians’ lands, building settlement
roads, constructing the annexation wall, ethnic cleansing and creating
Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem and assaulting holy sites.

PCHR affirms that CSOs are the last resort to protect the inalienable
rights of the Palestinian people and to defend civilian victims from the
Israeli violations. These organizations will never and even refuse to be a
good victim for the occupation. CSOs are fully aware of their role and duty
and will not surrender or get caught up in defending their existence,
because they exist for a noble, legal, national, and humanitarian mission,
which is to defend the Palestinians’ dignity, rights and rule of law.

It is worth noting that the Israeli authorities’ decision to classify 6
CSOs as terrorist organizations was broadly and internationally condemned,
specifically by the United Nations bodies, Special Rapporteurs, and the
High Commissioner for Human Rights. Also, 10 European Union (EU) Member
States rejected the Israeli decision, considering it was based on unfounded
accusations and affirmed in a joint statement that they will continue to
work with these organization, and that having a free and strong civil
society is indispensable to promote the democratic values.

PCHR stresses the Palestinian authority (PA)’s role in protecting the civil
society and its organizations, especially as these organizations legally
operate in the West Bank and its offices located in Palestinian
Authority-controlled areas.

PCHR also calls on the EU and the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva
Convention to take immediate action in order to compel Israel to abolish
the decision to close the CSOs and stop all violations against them.
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