War on Want response: Israel moves to outlaw Palestinian human rights groups

The organisations named by the Israeli Justice and Defense Ministries include our partner Addameer, along with Al-Haq Organization, Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees (UPWC). Staff carrying out vital human rights work for these groups are now at heightened risk of arrest and detention.

War on Want’s Executive Director, Asad Rehman, said: ‘War on Want condemns Israel’s move to outlaw Palestinian human rights organisations. This is the latest escalation in Israel’s systematic, targeted repression of Palestinian human rights defenders and Palestinian civil society organisations; which has been extensively documented by international human rights organisations and the UN. These attacks seek to silence and punish those who stand up for Palestinian rights, demand accountability for Israel’s violations of international law; and speak out against Israel’s brutal and illegal occupation. The Palestinian human rights organisations targeted today have been at the forefront of monitoring such violations. 

Israel’ attempts to crush dissent and social movements is key to its military occupation regime. Israel imposes repressive laws on the Palestinian population to suppress dissent, quash resistance to occupation, and to deepen its military rule. The international community has continually failed over decades to hold Israel to account for long-standing human rights abuses and violations of international law. This attack on Palestinian civil society is the latest attempt to intimidate and suppress crucial human rights work, to shut down international solidarity, and to isolate the Palestinian cause.

War on Want is committed to advocating for the rights of the Palestinian people, and to standing up against injustice, in solidarity with human rights defenders around the world.  Now more than ever, the international community must stand in solidarity with Palestinian civil society to protect human rights defenders and demand accountability for Israel’s human rights abuses.’