The Hamas movement, the Palestinian authority, as well as other rights organizations condemned the Israeli occupation's classification of 6 Palestinian civil organizations as "terrorist" organizations.

Hamas Spokesperson Hazem Qasim released a statement on Friday, saying that the decision of the "Zionist war minister" to classify national, social, and developmental rights organizations as terrorist is a form of rabid warfare against Palestinian presence, and a terrorist action that goes against all international laws and norms.

He added that this decision is an attempt to weaken Palestine by targeting its national organizations, and to weaken the Palestinian people's ability to remain steadfast by depriving it of the services offered by said organizations.

Qasim also called upon the international community not to buy into the occupation's lies, and to expose Zionist terrorism, which is at the basis of such decisions.

Authority speaks up

Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, refused "Israel's" move, calling upon the international community and all human rights organizations around the world to condemn this decision, which "goes against international law."

The authority condemned the move yesterday 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 assault against Palestinian civil society, and the basic rights of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation. 

The statement further added that this "heinous" move is the latest in the occupation's campaign against Palestinian civil society organizations.

The Palestinian NGO's Network (PNGO), which includes the 6 organizations classified as terrorist by "Israel", affirmed the seriousness of this decision, saying that the Israeli occupation is itself a form of terrorism, given its actions and crimes against the Palestinian people, its settler colonialist policies, its ethnic cleansing against unarmed civilians, as well as its embargo and the increase of its assaults on all Palestinian soil.

Washington: "Israel" did not notify us

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a press conference that "the US will ask "Israel" for clarifications regarding its decision to classify 6 Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as terrorist organizations."

In his press brief, Price indicated that Israeli officials "did not inform us in advance about this," stressing that "respect for human rights is an important principle."