PLO, Arab League deplore Israel designating Palestinian rights groups as 'terrorist'

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Arab League deplored Israel for designating six Palestinian human rights groups as "terrorist organisations".

The Israeli defence ministry's decision, announced on Tuesday, effectively bans six major human rights and civil society organisations from operating in the occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel in a move that was widely criticised.

The PLO on Sunday rejected the designations, saying in a statement that it is yet another Israeli violation of Palestinian human rights.

"What the occupation government and its agencies are doing is specific terrorism against the Palestinian people and civil society institutions to prevent them from playing their role in supporting the steadfastness of Palestinian society and its needs, and in exposing the crimes of the occupation against human rights," the statement, carried by Palestinian Authority’s news agency Wafa, said.

The Arab League condemned the decision, saying it stifles the organisations' efforts in monitoring human rights abuses by Israeli forces in the occupied territories and ensuring the Israeli government is held to account.

The bloc affirmed solidarity with Palestinians and called on the international community to act on this latest move by Israel.

The military measure applies to Addameer, a detainees' rights organisation, Defense for Children Palestine, legal NGO Al-Haq, the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Bisan Center for Research and Development.

It effectively makes the groups illegal and permits Israel to shut workplaces, confiscate property, detain employees, and other measures.

Three of the groups issued statements on Friday and Saturday condemning the declaration, made using Israel’s domestic Anti-Terrorism Law of 2016.