Israeli Media: Gantz's Decision to Classify 6 Palestinian NGO as Terrorist was Baseless
After the Israeli Security Minister made the decision to classify 6 Palestinian NGOs as "terrorist" organizations, Israeli media say this announcement was done without evidence.
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Jerusalem Post: No evidence was given to support charges against the organizations
Israeli media reported that Security Minister Benny Gantz surprised the US, the UN, and the EU by his announcement to classify 6 Palestinian NGOs as "terrorist" organizations on Friday.
According to the Jerusalem Post "There are two problems with Gantz’s announcement on Friday. The first is that it was done without providing any evidence. Just a statement to the media. No briefing or release of documents was made to prove the charges being leveled against the groups."
As for the second, it was that "Israel" failed to keep the US up to date on what its plans were, "As a result, the US was taken by surprise and Price [Ned - Spokesperson for the US Department of State] made the statement he made."
According to JPost, had "Israel" notified the US Department of State in advance, it is possible that its decision would not have been condemned, and likened this to the bombing of Gaza's media tower in May, which housed the Associated Press office. At the time, "Israel" had also failed to notify the US beforehand, or even immediately afterward.
"Israel's" rap sheet
Another example of such an incident includes the trial of Muhammad el-Halabi, the former chief of an NGO by the name of World Vision, who was arrested in 2016 on claims that he was aiding Hamas and diverting millions of dollars of Australian government funds. An investigation revealed there was no evidence to back the Israeli claims.
"Halabi has been in jail for more than five years and has endured 165 court sessions without any credible evidence brought against him. He has been denied bail and his trial has been declared secret without any credible reason except possibly to hide the fact that the prosecutor is afraid of being exposed for unjustly keeping an innocent man in jail for such a long time," the article said.
This, according to the daily, is the problem with Gantz's announcement, because announcements accusing an NGO of aiding terrorism are easy to make, but harder to prove.
The Palestinian authority condemned the Israeli decision on Friday through a statement released by the Foreign Ministry, refusing what it called the rabid assault on Palestinian civil society and its organizations by the Israeli occupation, describing it as a strategic attack against Palestinian civil society, and the basic rights of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International affirmed that the failure of the international community to challenge violations emboldened the Israeli authorities to act in this brazen manner.
