Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Sheikh Qassem: We are ready to defend ourselves if 'Israel' attacks us in a way that we believe calls for us to defend ourselves
Sheikh Qassem: "Israel" will never be handed over our weapons
Sheikh Qassem: He who refuses so and accepts humiliation, that is their own business, but for us, we will not accept humiliation. We have made great sacrifices, and our strength has helped us achieve this result
Sheikh Qassem: Be patient with the issue of exclusivity of arms with the state in the face of the great danger that will not spare Lebanon; let us speak with one voice and work for the sake of priority
Sheikh Qassem: Lebanon faces three real dangers: 'Israel, ISIS tools on the eastern border, and US tyranny
Sheikh Qassem: Today, we are faced by an Israeli threat and Israeli arms that can be used elsewhere, and this is the greatest danger threatening Lebanon
Sheikh Qassem: The US administration is coordinating the war with 'Israel' and working to expand it in the region
Sheikh Qassem: They want to prevent any action that could constitute resistance to 'Israel's' expansion in the region and to strike anything that could pose a threat to it
Sheikh Qassem: Washington is lying outright when it says it was not a guarantor to the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon
Sheikh Qassem: They are pushing toward normalization, which is, in reality, a step toward 'annexing' the region to 'Israel'

How 'Israel' targets critics with baseless terrorism allegations: RS

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Responsible Statecraft
  • 12 May 2025 09:07
  • 3 Shares
4 Min Read

Former US official Josh Paul exposes how "Israel" weaponizes terrorism allegations to silence Palestinian civil society, discredit critics, and pressure institutions from Gaza to New York, often without evidence.

Listen
  • x
  • Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian woman during an arrest raid, in the village of Yabad near the West Bank city of Jenin, Tuesday, May. 12, 2020. (AP)
    Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian woman during a raid in the village of Ya'bad near the West Bank city of Jenin, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. (AP)

Josh Paul, a former senior official at the US State Department, has revealed findings from a previously unpublished report that illustrates how "Israel" strategically uses terrorism allegations to discredit critics and derail diplomacy, particularly regarding Gaza and broader Palestinian civil society.

Paul resigned in protest over US arms transfers to "Israel" amid the war on Gaza. His recent disclosures, published by Responsible Statecraft, shed light on a long-standing pattern. “Human rights activists in Jerusalem, humanitarian aid workers in Gaza, and college students in New York,” he writes, “all purportedly have links to terrorism,” according to "Israel" and its influence networks. The allegations, he argues, are often baseless but serve a calculated purpose, to smear and isolate those who challenge "Israel’s" political agenda.

The Jenin Revolving Door report: What it revealed

Paul first encountered this tactic in 2008 while working with the US Security Coordinator (USSC) in the occupied West Bank. At the time, "Israel" claimed that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was failing to "detain terrorism suspects," impeding US-backed peace efforts. Despite observable improvements in the PA’s security operations, "Israel" continued to accuse it of maintaining a so-called “revolving door” justice system.

To investigate these claims, Paul led the drafting of The Jenin Revolving Door Report, co-authored with a UK police official and a Canadian military officer. Recently released with minor redactions, the report found little to substantiate "Israel's" accusations.

While the report acknowledged that Palestinian law was vague and its justice system under-resourced, it sharply criticized the nature and quality of "Israel’s" claims. “These lists… commonly lack any evidence to substantiate the validity of the targets,” it stated. In some cases, the individuals named were already deceased. The PA, it added, “cannot simply arrest and administratively detain persons because Israel wants it done; it has processes it must follow… with international human rights and legal best practice.”

Related News

Pro-Palestine protester disrupts finish at Tour de France

Digital apartheid? Report exposes anti-Palestine social media bias

'Israel’s' use of intelligence without evidence

Paul draws a crucial distinction: “Intelligence… is not evidence, and is often wrong.” He contends that "Israel" often demands that its claims be accepted without proof. “In the experience of the US Security Coordinator at the time I served in it, Israel’s lists were often flawed and inaccurate.”

The report also highlights a double standard. While "Israel" criticized the PA for releasing detainees, it regularly engaged in similar practices. “Israel does not try every Palestinian it detains… arrests and detentions form a regular part of intelligence gathering activities… and are often thought to be more pre-emptive or deterrent than they are reactive to specific threats.”

In 2022, "Israel" designated six leading Palestinian civil society organizations as "terror-linked entities," alleging ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). One of these groups, Defense for Children International–Palestine (DCIP), was raided just after the US acknowledged the credibility of its report on the sexual abuse of a child in Israeli detention.

Although several Western governments initially severed ties with these groups, most quietly restored them after "Israel" failed to provide conclusive evidence.

From UNRWA to US campuses: A pattern of allegations

This strategy has expanded to international institutions. In early 2024, "Israel" accused 108 UNRWA employees in Gaza of links to Hamas’ armed wing. Despite UNRWA's stated commitment to internal investigations, no supporting evidence has been submitted. “UNRWA has been unable to substantiate those accusations,” Paul notes, adding that “Israel has not provided any further evidence.”

Even US academic institutions have become targets. In March, a legal filing accused Columbia University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter of having foreknowledge of Hamas’ October 7 operation, based solely on a captive’s account of what he was allegedly told by his captors. “Why would Hamas leaders alert some college students in New York?” Paul asks. “Regardless of the accusation’s merit, the reputational damage to SJP is done.”

Paul warns that allegations without evidence should not be accepted at face value. “There is often less than meets the eye” when it comes to "Israeli" claims, he writes. He urges targeted individuals and organizations to “demand substantive evidence.” And if "Israel" cannot or will not provide it, he concludes, “it should be ignored.”

Read next: Ex-State Dept. officials confirm US bombs used against Gaza children

  • Pro-Palestine stance
  • crackdown on dissent
  • Israel
  • Gaza genocide
  • Israeli occupation
  • terrorism allegations

Most Read

Algerian nurse stabbed in Germany

Murder of Algerian nurse in Germany sparks outcry, demands for justice

  • Europe
  • 14 Jul 2025
Credible reports, including some from Israeli media itself, indicate that Tel Aviv had pinned its hopes on what can only be described as a delusional plan. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Jebraily: Iran strikes rewrote regional deterrence rules - Exclusive

  • MENA
  • 15 Jul 2025
Al-Qassam Brigades fighters confront Israeli soldiers in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

3 Israeli soldiers killed amid Gaza battles: Israeli media

  • Palestine
  • 14 Jul 2025
Al Mayadeen: UN Palestine Inquiry members reportedly resigned

Exclusive: UN Palestine Inquiry members reportedly resigned

  • Politics
  • 15 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
George Abdallah: Europe's longest-held political prisoner to be freed
Politics

Georges Abdallah: Europe's longest-held political prisoner to be freed

A still from the video released by al-Qassam Brigades, which reads, "Captivity is better than death", on July 17, 2025 (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam releases video warning Israelis: Captivity better than death

Georges Abdallah attends his trial in Lyon on July 3, 1986 (Social Media)
Politics

'A symbol for every prisoner': Hezbollah hails Georges Abdallah

Plume of smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Qabrikha, July 17, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

'Israel' kills mother, father, injures 10-year-old daughter in Lebanon

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS