Israeli military raids, vandalizes, and seals offices of seven Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations in occupied West Bank

18/08/2022

Israel's confiscation of documents and equipment and the closing of the offices comes just hours after Israel's West Bank military commander rejected the objections of five of the six organizations that were designated as terrorist in October 2021. Adalah: The attack is on the entire Palestinian people and their right to self-determination.

Today, in the early morning hours of 18 August 2022, Israeli military forces raided the offices of seven Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations, confiscated documents and their equipment, and vandalized and sealed their doors.

Israeli troops break into the office of a Palestinian NGO in the West Bank city of Ramallah on 18 August 2022. (Photo courtesy of Israeli military)

The Israeli defense minister had declared six of the organizations as terrorist groups in October 2021, under Israeli law and soon thereafter, the Israeli military commander in the West Bank also outlawed the groups, declaring them "unlawful associations". Another organization that was raided and closed is the Health Work Committees, which Israel’s West Bank commander declared as an "unlawful association" in January 2020.

The Israeli military carried out the raid only a few hours after the military commander rejected the objection submitted by the organizations Addameer, Al Haq, the Bisan Center, Defense of Children International-Palestine, the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, challenging his decision to outlaw them. The objection was filed by the legal team representing the organizations: Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and private Attorneys Michael Sfard and Avigdor Feldman, after the Israeli authorities refused repeated requests to reveal the evidence it allegedly holds against the organizations.

CLICK HERE to read the announcement issued by the defense minister concerning the rejection of the organizations’ objection [English]
CLICK HERE to read the Israeli military closure order against Addameer [English]
CLICK HERE to read the military’s letter rejecting the objection [Hebrew]
CLICK HERE to read the introduction of the objection [English]
CLICK HERE to read the full objection [Hebrew]

Adalah responded to Israel’s military raids and closure of the Palestinian NGOs:

"After 10 European states rejected Israel’s declarations of the groups as “terrorist organizations”, as it was pronounced in the absence of any evidence, Israel continues to persecute Palestinian human rights and civil society groups with the clear aim of silencing them. The effort is led by a Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, suspected of committing war crimes, in an attempt to terrorize those who will testify against him and his actions. The raid on the organizations’ offices was carried out only a few hours after the Israeli Military Commander rejected the objection filed by the groups against their declaration as “unlawful associations”, without giving any answer to the fact that these organizations were and are not given any opportunity to defend themselves against the secret evidence that the Israeli security forces allegedly hold against them. This attack on Palestinian civil society is an attack on the entire Palestinian people and their right to self-determination. Standing aside or staying silent constitutes active cooperation with the persecution and oppression of human rights defenders."