WAFA News: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has categorically condemned the decision of the Israeli Minister of “Defense” declaring six Palestinian civil society organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to be “terrorist organizations.”
The six groups are Addameer, al-Haq, Defense for Children Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Bisan Center for Research and Development and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees. The designation, made pursuant to a 2016 Israeli statute, effectively outlaws the activities of these civil society groups.
The decision also authorizes the Israeli occupation authorities to close their offices, seize their assets and arrest and jail their staff members, and it prohibits funding or even publicly expressing support for their activities.
“The Israeli decision amounts to a serious violation of international law,” said Shtayyeh in a statement. “The targeted institutions operate in accordance with Palestinian law, and work in partnerships with international institutions.”
He concluded, “This requires the intervention of these institutions to condemn the Israeli action and work to prevent the decision’s implementation.”
