Israeli dossier on rights groups contains little evidence

3 years ago 231

JERUSALEM – A confidential Israeli dossier detailing alleged links betwixt Palestinian quality rights groups and an internationally designated violent enactment contains small factual grounds and failed to person European countries to halt backing the groups.

The 74-page papers appears to person been prepared by Israel's Shin Bet interior information work and shared with European governments successful May. The Associated Press obtained the papers from the online +972 Magazine, which was the first to study connected it, on with the Hebrew-language Local Call. Israel whitethorn person further grounds that has not been made public.

Last month, Israel designated six Palestinian civilian nine organizations arsenic violent groups, saying they were tied to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular, leftist governmental question with an equipped helping that has carried retired deadly attacks against Israelis. Israel and Western countries see the PFLP a violent organization.

But Israel has yet to instrumentality further enactment against the groups, which run openly successful the occupied West Bank. The Defense Ministry and the Shin Bet did not respond to requests for comment.

The six groups, immoderate of which person adjacent ties to rights groups successful Israel and abroad, contradict the allegations. They accidental the panic designation is aimed astatine muzzling critics of Israel's half-century subject concern of territories the Palestinians privation for their aboriginal state.

The designated groups are the Al-Haq quality rights group, the Addameer rights group, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees.

The dossier relies astir wholly connected the interrogation of Said Abedat and Amru Hamudeh, who worked arsenic accountants for the Union of Health Committees, a abstracted radical which was outlawed successful January 2020. Both were reportedly fired successful 2019 for embezzling funds, and were aboriginal detained by the Shin Bet. Their lawyers could not beryllium reached for comment.

Neither appears to person ever worked for the six organizations outlawed past month.

In redacted excerpts from their interrogation by Israeli authorities, they allege that the six organizations are PFLP branches but bash not supply immoderate grounds beyond naming a fistful of alleged PFLP members employed by the groups. They suggest that immoderate of the employees forge receipts to siphon distant donor funds, but bash not supply impervious oregon accidental wherever the wealth went.

Speaking astir the Union of Agricultural Work Committees — 1 of the six — Abedat is quoted arsenic saying, “as acold arsenic I know, this enactment affiliates to the PFLP." His "estimation” is that the aforesaid printing institution that helped him forge invoices besides helped the different group.

Even erstwhile describing his ain enactment successful diverting funds to the PFLP, Abedat makes nary notation of militant activities. “We funded PFLP activities specified arsenic assemblage activities, backing of the injured and sick for the PFLP, backing of families of martyrs and prisoners from the PFLP,” helium is quoted arsenic saying.

Israel says the PFLP and different equipped groups usage specified activities to enlistee and indoctrinate members, and to supply fiscal enactment to militants and their families.

The dossier besides details respective forged invoices, each from the Union of Health Committees. In 1 instance, Abedat says: “I estimation that this wealth went to PFLP activities." In the others, it's either unclear wherever the wealth went, oregon Abedat says it was utilized to screen the UHC's debts.

Several European officials person expressed skepticism astir the allegations.

In a missive to Dutch lawmakers connected May 12, caretaker Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag said caller Israeli accusation connected 2 Palestinian organizations that were indirectly funded by the Netherlands “offers nary factual grounds of links with the PFLP."

Kaag acknowledged that 2 erstwhile employees of the UAWC who had received salaries from a Dutch-funded task were suspected successful a deadly August 2019 bombing successful the occupied West Bank that was blamed connected the PFLP. She said the authorities had already suspended backing for that task pending an autarkic investigation.

Belgium's improvement curate told a parliamentary committee successful July that her authorities besides investigated Israeli accusation received successful May but recovered "no factual worldly grounds for imaginable fraud astatine the spouse organizations.”

The minister, Meryame Kitir, said the authorities had besides examined yearly audits of the groups carried retired by planetary firms similar Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers without uncovering immoderate irregularities.

"I truthful spot nary crushed contiguous to frost funds, nor to person further outer investigations carried out," she said.

Last month, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney expressed interest astir the coercion designation, saying erstwhile allegations against Palestinian civilian nine organizations supported by Ireland and the EU “have not been substantiated.”

Shin Bet officials traveled to Washington past week to little U.S. officials connected the coercion designation. They shared a summary of their presumption with the AP that mostly matched the dossier, including excerpts from the aforesaid interrogations, but whitethorn person shared different grounds that was classified. State Department spokesperson Ned Price declined to remark connected those discussions oregon accidental whether the United States shares Israel’s appraisal of the Palestinian groups.

NGO Monitor, a pro-Israel radical that researches Palestinian nongovernmental organizations, says it has identified 13 — including the six targeted with the panic designation and the antecedently outlawed UHC— that unneurotic person employed much than 70 individuals with PFLP ties.

Gerald Steinberg, the caput of NGO Monitor, said Israel trained its attraction connected the purported web aft the August 2019 attack, which killed a 17-year-old Israeli girl, and appears to beryllium gathering its case.

“The HWC was the archetypal one. They’re looking to spot wherever the wealth comes from," helium told the AP. “We place organizations with sometimes 10, 11, 12 individuals successful elder positions, successful galore cases the accountants, the treasurers, the committee members."

Critics accidental pro-Israel groups purpose to discredit Palestinian rights activists successful bid to shield Israel from disapproval successful satellite bodies similar the International Criminal Court, which opened an probe successful March into alleged Israeli warfare crimes. Israel is profoundly opposed to the investigation, and views the ICC and different planetary organizations arsenic biased against it.

Michael Sfard, a salient Israeli lawyer who often represents Palestinians, said the dossier “amounts to perfectly nothing" erstwhile it comes to the six organizations. He is providing ineligible practice to 1 of the six, Al-Haq, a quality rights radical founded successful 1979 that gets lone a passing notation successful the dossier.

Sfard said the 2 detainees cannot beryllium considered reliable witnesses, and that adjacent if their statements are taken astatine look value, they don't beryllium anything.

“It’s each guilt by association. Even if it is existent that radical who enactment successful definite organizations are PFLP operatives, it does not travel that the enactment itself is portion of the PFLP," helium said.

"On each levels, this papers successful information shows however anemic the full lawsuit against these six organizations is,” helium added.

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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee successful Washington and Mike Corder successful The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

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