ISRAEL: INCLO Members Stand in Solidarity with Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Declared Terrorist Groups by Israeli Government and Call to Reverse Decision Immediately

We support the 6 organisations that have been designated as “terrorist groups” under Israel’s anti-terrorism law and call for the Israeli government to immediately reverse its decision and remove them from the list of terrorist organisations.

The undersigned members of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), reject the draconian actions made by the Israeli government, based on secret evidence, about the alleged criminal ties of human rights organizations Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights, Al-Haq, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children Palestine, Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees.

As it stands, at the moment, this action is political persecution of these institutions and it must come to an immediate stop.

This past October 19, the aforementioned organisations were declared as terror organisations on the grounds of their supposed association with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), designated as a terrorist organisation by the Israeli, EU, and US governments.

Among these are long-standing and respected human rights organisations that have been working tirelessly for many years to protect the human rights of Palestinian people and to bravely fight against the injustices of the Israeli military occupation.

The declaration is based on confidential reports, and neither evidence nor proof of the serious charge has been provided. This move fatally harms human rights defenders and Palestinian civil society organisations, and attempts to silence legitimate groups who work to monitor, document, expose and hold accountable those responsible for serious human rights violations by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

We offer our full support to these organisations that contribute to the defence of human rights including through legal aid and representation of children and political prisoners in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and condemn any type of criminalisation and persecution of human rights defenders. Anti-terrorism laws should never be used to target, criminalise, or incarcerate human rights defenders.

Endorsed by:

Agora International Human Rights Group (Russia)

American Civil Liberties Union (United States)

Association for Civil Rights in Israel (Israel)

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (Argentina)

Dejusticia (Colombia)

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (Egypt)

Human Rights Law Centre (Australia)

Human Rights Law Network (India)

Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (Hungary)

Irish Council for Civil Liberties (Ireland)

Kenya Human Rights Commission (Kenya)

KontraS (Indonesia)

Legal Resource Center (South Africa)