Israel Criminalizes Six Palestinian Charities

On Sunday, Israel ratified the declaration of six West Bank-based NGOs as terrorist organizations. This decision allows the Israeli army to deploy actions against these charities and their workers.

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"The Central Command Commander-in-Chief, Major General Yehuda Fuchs, signed the legal documents declaring that the organizations are illegal entities… in the Judea and Samaria region," the Israeli Army said.

The charities affected by the Jewish decision are the Union of Palestinian Women Committees (UPWC), the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Addameer), the Bisan Research and Development Center, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), the human rights organization Al-Haq, and the Defense for Children-Palestine (DCI-P).

On October 22, the Israeli Defense Minister declared these organizations as terrorists arguing that they are allegedly linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Until now, that decision was just a statement, as Israeli law is only applicable in its territory. However, the military order makes that declaration effective in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.

The Palestinian charities warned the military order places their staff in a situation of extreme risk, as the Israeli Army could raid their offices, carry out equipment requisitions, and detain their workers.

These NGOs receive funding from various international institutions and multilateral organizations. One of them is the European Union (EU), which has defended support for Palestinian civil society and has requested more information on this case.

The Palestinian National Authority described the Jewish decision as "scandalous" and noted that it represents the latest step "in a systematic and relentless campaign against Palestinian civil society organizations and leading human rights defenders."