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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/10544">adalah.org</a>
<h1>Palestinian Organizations Declared as ‘Unlawful Associations’ by Israeli Military File Objection: Illegal Decision Devoid of Due Process</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">03/02/2022</div>
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The leading human rights and civil society organizations that were
declared as “unlawful associations” submitted a procedural objection
demanding the decision’s cancellation; the OPT military commander
announced that the evidence that allegedly establishes the declarations
will remain secret.</p><div>
<p>On 3 February 2022, leading Palestinian human rights and civil
society organizations filed a procedural objection to the Military
Commander of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in the West Bank,
against the declaration of the groups as "unlawful associations", under
the 1945 Emergency (Defense) Regulations. The declarations were made
following the decision by Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz on 21
October 2021, to designate the groups as "terrorist organizations" under
Israel's domestic 2016 Counter-Terrorism Law.</p>
<p>The organizations that objected are Addameer, Al-Haq, Bisan Center
for Research and Development, Defence for Children International –
Palestine, and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees. The Union of
Agricultural Workers’ Committee was declared unlawful prior to these
designations, and is not a part of this particular process.</p>
<p>On 16 December 2021, the organizations sent a letter to the Israeli
authorities demanding that they reveal all of the materials forming the
factual bases of the declarations. The groups’ legal team argued that
there is no justice, fairness, or due process for the organizations,
without access to these materials in their entirety in order to defend
themselves.</p>
<p>In response, the Israeli military authorities replied on 2 January
2022 that the groups would be permitted to inspect the unclassified
materials while emphasizing however that <strong>the core of the designations is </strong><strong>based on confidential intelligence information that cannot be revealed due to “security reasons”.</strong></p>
<p>The objection, submitted by the groups’ legal team – The Adalah Legal
Center, and the offices of Attorney Michael Sfard and Attorney Jawad
Boulus - follows the Israeli authorities’ repeated refusal to reveal the
alleged “evidence” against the organizations, and, as such, the
objection demands a complete cancellation of the decision.</p>
<p>The organizations emphasized that the Israeli authorities’
declarations are a blatant and extreme violation of international law,
as they deny the Palestinian people the realization of even the minimal
elements of the right to self-determination. The objection also
presented a long list of international criticism of Israel’s actions
against the organizations, voiced both by states and by the human rights
community. This criticism often referred to the declarations as an
attack on Palestinian society as a whole and as an attempt to
criminalize Palestinian civil society. Several states also indicated in
their statements that they were not convinced by the materials presented
to them by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and that such materials did
not justify the declarations.</p>
<p>The objection includes a detailed account of the organizations'
activities and the beneficiaries receiving their services, and
underscores the long history of the organizations, several of which have
been operating for decades, as well as the centrality of these groups
in the life of Palestinian society, which is suffering from prolonged
occupation. Given these facts, Israel’s actions cannot be interpreted as
anything other than a politically-motivated attack on Palestinian human
rights defenders and “an attempt to destroy Palestinian civil society.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.adalah.org/uploads/uploads/Objection_to_Military_Introduction_030222.pdf">CLICK HERE – To read the introduction of the objection</a> [English]</p>
<p><strong>The main legal arguments raised in the objection:</strong></p>
<ul><li><strong>No due process:</strong> The declarations are illegal, as
they are based solely on secret evidence. The military commander
announced that he will not provide the organizations with any material
that will allow them to defend themselves, and thus there is a total
denial of due process.</li></ul>
<ul><li><strong>No evidence: </strong>The military did not present evidence
connecting the organizations with any illegal activities, illegitimate
engagements, or misuse of funds. The groups stress that no such material
has been provided because it does not exist.</li></ul>
<ul><li><strong>Conflict of interest:</strong> The objection process itself
is tainted by a conflict of interest, since the decision-maker who
issued the decision – the Military Commander – is the same body that
will decide on the objection.</li></ul>
<ul><li><strong>Violation of the rule of law</strong>: The Military
Commander operated without authority, as his use of the 1945 Emergency
Regulations is conditioned upon an order of the Minister of Defense,
according to a procedure that no longer exists in Israeli law, following
the enactment of the 2016 Counter-Terrorism Law.</li></ul>
<p><a href="https://www.adalah.org/uploads/uploads/Military_Objection_Pal_orgs_030222.pdf">CLICK HERE to read the full objection</a> [Hebrew]</p>
<p><a href="https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/10508">CLICK HERE</a> to read more on the Palestinian 6 on Adalah’s website</p>
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