Press Release

Israeli attack on Palestinian civil society organisations:
the government to intervene promptly

The Organisations, Networks and Platforms that are signatories to this appeal, urged by the Italian organisations operating in Palestine, express their condemnation and great concern over the extremely serious act of violence that took place on the morning of 18 August, when the Israeli army raided the offices of the six Palestinian NGOs (Al-Haq, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defence for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees) designated by the Israeli Ministry of Defence as terrorist organisations on 19 October 2021 and subsequently by the Military Commander on 3 November 2021.

The military seized computers and material and sealed the doors of the six offices, all located in Ramallah, posting a permanent closure order, signed by the Commander of the Israeli Army in the West Bank. The order states that illegal activities are carried out in the offices of these organisations.

In recent months, no evidence has been provided by the Israeli government to support the designation of the six NGOs as terrorist organisations, despite repeated requests by both the NGOs themselves and numerous governments and international institutions.

The Italian government, along with eight other governments of EU member states, has also publicly declared that, in the absence of concrete evidence, the solid cooperation with six organisations that have been engaged at the highest level for decades in the defence and promotion of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory would continue.

We consider this morning's events to be an affront on the part of the Government of Israel and an unacceptable reaction to the legitimate stances of the nine European governments, which are, moreover, entirely similar to those adopted by the same states and the European Union in the past in similar situations of non-compliance with international standards of human rights protection.

The attack on those who defend and promote respect for human rights delegitimises the use of peaceful and legal means to resolve the conflict, in fact reinforcing the most extremist positions at a time of worrying escalation of violence, which leaves the civilian population on both sides further vulnerable.

In strongly reaffirming their support for the six Palestinian NGOs and their extreme concern for the safety of their colleagues working there, the organisations signing this communiqué call for an immediate intervention by the Italian government, including

• The immediate convening of representatives of the Israeli Diplomatic Authorities to report on the case
• The reiteration of the commitment publicly expressed last 12 July to continue supporting the six Palestinian NGOs, and the Italian NGOs that collaborate with them, including through funding from the Italian Cooperation
• The denunciation of these facts as part of Israel's policy to gag Palestinian civil society, to use counter-terrorism measures in an arbitrary and instrumental manner, for the sole purpose of silencing dissent and obstructing the action of human rights defenders, and to intimidate the population, with the result of denying the exercise of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. Such a denunciation, and the official demand that these abuses be reversed, is part of the obligations that international law places on third states in the face of the violation of mandatory norms, as in this case
• A clear stance and concrete measures by the Italian Government and the European Union aimed at inducing Israel to put an end to discriminatory and oppressive practices that, as denounced also by Amnesty International and the Israeli NGO B'Tselem, constitute a system of apartheid against the entire Palestinian population in the Occupied Territory and in Israel.

AOI - CINI - Link2007 - Platform of Italian NGOs in the Mediterranean and Middle East - Amnesty International Italy - Assopace Palestine - Italian Peace and Disarmament Network