“Not acceptable”: Nine European states rejects Israel’s raids, shutting down of Palestinian NGOs

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Nine European countries have expressed alarm at Israel’s recent raids and shutting down the offices of several Palestinian civil society rights groups in the occupied West Bank.

In a joint statement issued on Friday by the Foreign Ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden, the states said, “We are deeply concerned by the raids which took place in the morning of 18 August, as part of a worrying reduction of space for civil society” across the territory.

“These actions are not acceptable,” the nine countries added.

In the early morning of 18 August 2022, Israeli occupation forces forcibly entered, raided, ransacked and damaged properties of six designated Palestinian civil society organizations: Al-Haq, Addameer, the Bisan Center for Research & Development, Defence for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Workers Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC).

According to the groups, the armed military forces bashed through the front doors of the offices, welded iron slabs over their entrances, and affixed to each a military order for the immediate closure of the organization and their offices.

Private property and information from three of the offices were seized, adjoining properties damaged and military debris, including sponge-grenades, teargas canisters, and rubber coated and live bullets, were left around the properties. The violent enforcement of these designations impose financial and safety risks upon these organizations, as their finances and assets may be confiscated and their staff members directly targeted, arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned.

The office of Health Work Committees (HWC) was also broken into and raided.

According to the military orders, having been previously designated by Israeli occupation as “terrorist” organisations on 19 October 2021 under Israel’s domestic Counter Terrorism Law, 2016, and later under military order on 3 November 2021 as “unlawful associations” per Article 319 of the Defense (Emergency) Regulations of 1945, the offices of the six organisations have been ordered shut as illegal.

In addition, the military order also considers the work activities conducted inside the organizations as illegal.

The nine European states noted in the statement, “A free and strong civil society is indispensable for promoting democratic values and for a two state solution.”

“As we stated on 12 July, no substantial information was received from Israel that would justify reviewing our policy towards the 6 Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli decision to designate these NGOs as ‘terrorist organisations’. Should convincing evidence be made available to the contrary, we would act accordingly.”