European funding.. part of the Israeli war! ‏

Written by: Dr. Dalal Saeb Erekat

Since the decision to designate six Palestinian civil society organizations as "terrorists", the countries of the world have called on the occupying state to provide evidence of that, and until this moment, the countries of the world are still awaiting evidence and evidence of the involvement of these organizations in terrorism, according to the claim of the occupying state. The truth is that Israel did not provide sufficient evidence against the 6 civil organizations in the West Bank, which are accused of carrying out activities in favor of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and it is not expected that the European Commission Investigation Office (OLAF) will open a European investigation, as a group of countries found The evidence presented did not reach the standard required to prove involvement in terrorism! ‏
On October 19, 2021, the Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz, signed a military order marking 6 Palestinian civil society institutions and human rights organizations as "terrorist organizations." The damage to the organizations has already been done. It is necessary to note that these are institutions that are recognized for their professionalism, credibility, merit and respect. They document the practices of the occupation against the basic rights of the Palestinian people. These six institutions are:
1- Defense for Children International / Palestine DCI
2- Al-Haq Foundation
3- Addameer Association for Prisoner Support and Human Rights
4- Bisan Center for Research and Development
5- Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC).
6- Union of Palestinian Women's Committees (UPWC).

These organizations deny this claim, and European countries obtained evidence and did not find it strong enough to implicate the organizations in transferring money! More than 6 months after Gantz's decision, most representatives of EU member states have refrained from making public statements denouncing the decision under the pretext of waiting for the EU's position on this issue to be published. In early May, I met with the Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation, Myriam Keither, who confirmed to the media that the department's inspection found no information confirming the allegations regarding the organizations supported by Belgium, and that there was no reason to take action against them. No single European country has reached the same conclusions as Israel, meaning there is no evidence of the organizations' involvement. ‏
However, in May 2021, the European Commission suspended its support for Al-Haq prior to Gantz's statement, after Israel made allegations about the relationship between the organization and the PFLP, and following Gantz's statement, the Commission also froze funding provided to Agricultural Committees by Oxfam. ‏
It is very strange to see the commissioner take a different position from the member states. Oliver Varhali is the commissioner of the European Union of Hungarian origin and he is behind the delay in European support for the Palestinian Authority under the pretext of allegations of anti-Semitism in the Palestinian textbooks and curriculum as an irrational argument by Varhali. The behavior of the European Commission regarding the suspension of funds was characterized by a lack of transparency and non-responsiveness, which is a violation of the standards of good governance in the European Union. ‏
The marking decision was issued in the form of military orders, and this in itself is new evidence proving that the State of Israel is an apartheid state. Through these military orders, Gantz is trying to ban or stop the work of these organizations that document and announce the reality of the daily Israeli crimes of persecution, discrimination and apartheid against the Palestinians, as they document the occupation's violations of human rights in the occupied territories. Under military orders, these organizations now face the possibility of mass arrests and closure by the Israeli government, and anyone associated with these institutions is liable to imprisonment or prosecution, according to Israel's 2016 "Anti-Terrorism" Law.
The Israeli response to the messages of the countries of the world came to indicate that the Israelis have evidence of the involvement of these institutions. It is strange that the international community is still waiting for the occupying power to present its evidence, and in the meantime the Union is involved in stopping support, while Israel was not given a period of time for that and these countries did not provide any conditions or options to practice some form of coercive diplomacy. This is a weak position on the part of the international community, which suffices with denunciations and statements, while Israel enjoys unlimited immunity. Gantz knows with certainty that none of these countries will hold him accountable, and therefore he continues his racist, arbitrary and authoritarian policies. ‏
European funding for civil society human rights organizations in Palestine is an important component of the Union's support for the two-state solution, international law, human rights and democratic values. While Israel is trying to discredit human rights activists and brand them as terrorists, this comes as part of the escalation of the permanent Israeli attack on the Palestinians. The occupation state's grave and repeated violations of human rights

- Dalal Erekat: Professor of Diplomacy and Strategic Planning, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Arab American University. ‏