'Important but late': Palestinian NGOs welcome EU countries' rejection of Israel's 'terrorist' designation

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, Six Palestinian civil society groups labelled "terrorists" by Israel welcomed the rejection by nine European countries of Israel's designation and by US lawmaker Ayana Pressley.

"We consider such steps, although late, to be an important step towards the actualisation of rescinding and revoking Israel's settler-colonial and apartheid regime designation of our organisations," read the joint statement by the six NGOs.

"It is time that all states with no exception move in this similar direction and further demand in strong terms that Israel lifts this unlawful and arbitrary designation against our organisations," the statement added.

"The current response of the international community will prove to be the most imminent test of its resolve to protect Palestinian human rights and those advocating for them."

Last week, nine European countries issued a statement rejecting Israel's labelling the six NGOs as "terrorists".

"No substantial information was received from Israel that would justify reviewing our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs based on the Israeli decision to designate these NGOs as 'terrorist organisations", read the statement, signed by the foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

"In the absence of such evidence, we will continue our cooperation and strong support for the civil society in the [occupied Palestinian territories]," it declared.

“The European countries' position is welcome and necessary," said Milena Ansari, spokesperson for Addameer Prisoner Support Association, one of the six NGOs.

"However, it arrived a little late, especially since Israel failed to provide any proof for its claims against us," she stressed.

The joint European statement also said, "Should evidence be made available to the contrary, we would act accordingly".

"I believe this is a way of avoiding taking a full clear position," remarked Ansari. "There is no reason for this hesitation to denounce Israel's attack on civil society."

On Thursday, Israel's Defense Ministry told the lawyers representing Palestinian civil society groups that they might violate the Israeli anti-terror law.

In the letter sent to three of the lawyers two days after the nine European states' statement, Israel's defence ministry said that the lawyers might be in breach of Israeli law for collecting fees from the six organisations.

The correspondence, which was made public on Monday by Israeli media, included the response of Michael Sfard, one of the lawyers and legal representative of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq.

Over 140 organizations have supported a letter by 22 US lawmakers demanding action by the Biden administration on behalf of six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations designated as “terrorist” groups by the Israeli occupation. pic.twitter.com/HtQDdnhcq0

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) July 20, 2022

"Given the timing and the significance of the letter, it is very difficult not to interpret it as a threat by the government toward a lawyer whose work is strictly legal," said Sfard's response to the ministry.

According to Israeli reports, the lawyers said they informed the government ahead of time that they would represent the Palestinian NGOs.

"This is clear intimidation of the lawyers by the Israeli government," Milena Ansari told The New Arab.

"The letter was sent a few days ahead of an appeal hearing of two of the organisations at the Israeli defence ministry," she pointed out. "This is no coincidence; the aim is to intimidate the lawyers." 

Thank you @RepPressley for leading members of Congress to demand the Biden administration reject the Israeli criminalization of @DCIPalestine and five other Palestinian civil society organizations and insist the Israeli government reverse the decision. #StandWithThe6 https://t.co/waS44JQ8FL

— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) July 18, 2022

On Wednesday, Al-Haq and Defence of Children International-Palestine DCI-P have an appeal hearing before an Israeli defence ministry committee.

Following the Israeli labelling decision in October, the Israeli military authorities issued a military order to ban the six groups. Although the order has not been implemented and the NGOs continue to work, they risk arrest and closing their premises under Israeli military law.

The six NGOs provide services to the Palestinian population in legal assistance, agriculture, women's rights and children's rights, producing development studies and documenting human rights violations.