At dawn on Thursday, Israeli forces stormed the West Bank city of Ramallah and closed the entrances to seven Palestinian civilian associations that Israel classifies as “terrorist organizations.”
And the Israeli army announced in a statement that its military and border guards have shut down “seven organizations used by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine” that Israel classifies as “terrorist organizations.”
Palestinian security and NGO sources confirmed that the army covered with red wax Al-Haq institutes – Human Rights Law, Conscience for the Protection of Prisoners and Human Rights, Bisan Research and Development Center, Union of Working Women’s Committees, committees for Health Work, the Union of Agricultural Workers’ Committees and Defense for Children International. “The occupying forces broke into the institution’s office at 3:15 am, closed the door with red wax and suspended the military order to close it,” Tahsin Alyan, a legal researcher at the Al-Haq Foundation, told AFP. “Citizens opened the doors of the institution, and we will continue our work in it as if nothing had happened,” he added.
All of these agencies are headquartered in the cities of Ramallah and Al-Bira, which are within the classified Area A, which is under the control of Palestinian security in accordance with the Oslo Accord signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1993.
The Palestinian President condemned “the closure of seven institutions and the confiscation of their contents” as “a crime and a blatant attack on the Palestinian institutions of civil society, and an attack on the entire international human rights system, not just the Palestinian.” The President reaffirmed his position “in these national institutions that are doing their duty to expose the crimes of the occupation and expose them to the world.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh condemned the Israeli measures and told AFP during his visit to the institutions affected by the closure: “These institutions are part of the institutions of the Palestinian state and Israel’s actions are condemned and rejected.” Shtayeh added: “These institutions operate in accordance with Palestinian law, and as long as they are committed to Palestinian law, we are with them and support them.”
He said Israel was working to “launch a comprehensive campaign against the Palestinians, and Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territories are part of the Israeli leadership’s election campaign.” For its part, the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem declared its solidarity with the Palestinian institutions and said in a statement: “The allegations made against these institutions have been rejected by various countries and B’Tselem will continue to work with our Palestinian institutions. friends in these institutions. Palestinian security sources also confirmed that “the Israeli army stormed the Legislative Council building but did not close it.” Last November, Israel classified seven Palestinian associations as “terrorists”, sparking protests in Europe, with more than one European country reaffirming its willingness to continue supporting these organizations.
