The Israeli military today signed a series of decrees “illegal” as far as the occupied West Bank, the six Palestinian NGOs it recently added to its list of “terrorist organizations”, a move that is expected to further complicate the work of these organizations.
On October 22, the Ministry of Defense announced that it had blacklisted six Palestinian NGOs, some of which work for the protection of human rights and detainees, for alleged links to the Palestinian People’s Liberation Front (PFLP), a Marxist considered “terrorist” by the US and the European Union.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and several Israeli organizations immediately denounced this designation, which could lead to funding cuts for these NGOs, some of which receive European funding, and restrict the movement of their members.
On Sunday, Commander Yehuda Fox, commander of the Israeli army in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territory, enforced the measure by decree, declaring the organizations “illegal” because they “are part” of the PFLP and “endanger” the security of the State of Israel “.
The six NGOs, which claim that they did not have access to the evidence against them, have 14 days to appeal against this decision, the decrees underline.
The Israeli intelligence service, Sin Bet, accused the organizations in May of embezzling funds from “several European countries” in favor of the PFLP, with an Israeli source saying “tens of millions of dollars” had been transferred without any of the to let these governments know where the money was going. “
However, a 74-page report by Sinn-Beth on the case – which came to the attention of Agence France-Presse over the weekend and which +972 magazine, an independent Palestinian media outlet – first accessed, provides little information to support relations between the PFLP and the six NGOs.
The dossier is based on contacts with Saeed Abedat, an “active member” of the PFLP, who was fired for embezzling money from Health work committees, a Palestinian NGO he worked for and which does not belong to the six “terrorist” organizations.
In statements to the Israeli police, Abedat confirms that the employees of these NGOs are mostly PFLP agents. However, the file does not provide any cross-examination of the testimony of this man and the three other persons interrogated in this case.
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