2021 Israeli Designation of Six Palestinian NGOs

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the European Union, and Canada.[1] Israeli authorities had previously declared the Union of Health Work Committees an illegal association on January 22, 2020. Its inclusion in the alleged network brought the number of Palestinian NGOs identified by Israel in these sources as connected to the PFLP to seven.[2]

A key catalyst for the subsequent investigation was the August 23, 2019 terrorist bombing that killed seventeen-year-old Rina Shnerb and wounded her father and brother near the Dolev spring in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria.[2] Israeli investigators alleged that two PFLP members implicated in the attack were employed by UAWC. The investigation led to approximately 50 PFLP arrests over four months, the foiling of additional plots, and the seizure of weapons and bomb-making materials.[2] Israeli officials later cited that investigation and the alleged diversion of NGO funds as reasons for the 2021 designations.

The formal designations followed a joint terrorism-financing investigation by the Israel Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet, and the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing.[2] The six organizations worked in different areas of Palestinian civil society, including documenting alleged rights abuses by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas and promoting the rights of Palestinian prisoners, women, farmworkers, and children.[3]

On October 22, 2021, Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced the designation of all six organizations as terrorist organizations under Israel's Counter-Terrorism Law 5776-2016.[4] The National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing assigned each group an official designation number: UAWC received No. 371, DCI-P No. 372, Al-Haq No. 373, Bisan No. 374, Addameer No. 375, and UPWC No. 376.[5]

Israel alleged that the organizations presented themselves as civic or humanitarian groups while constituting an arm of the PFLP's leadership structure. The Defense Ministry and Israeli security sources said senior PFLP functionaries controlled the organizations, which employed PFLP operatives, recruited members, raised money, and concealed their affiliations to avoid enforcement action.[6][1]

The government further alleged that the groups obtained European and international funding through forgery and deception, including fictitious projects, false documents, inflated invoices, and forged bank records. Israel said the funds supported PFLP recruitment, payments to activists, activity in Jerusalem, dissemination of PFLP ideology, and payments to the families of security prisoners and people described by Israel as martyrs.[5]

In the health-sector fraud investigation that contributed to the broader inquiry, prosecutors estimated that approximately 18–72 million shekels were raised through alleged fraud between 2012 and 2020 and transferred to the PFLP instead of being used for public-health purposes.[2] A senior Israeli security official described the intelligence as "ironclad" and said it included "unequivocal evidence that includes video footage, photos, payment receipts that tie the said groups to backing of terror activity."[7]

Israeli officials described a broader seven-NGO network comprising the six organizations and the previously designated Union of Health Work Committees. They alleged that the network provided the PFLP with funds, employment for operatives, legitimacy, and meeting locations. The evidence described by Israeli officials included classified intelligence, seized documents and computers, and statements by arrested NGO employees.[2]

Regarding Al-Haq, the Jerusalem Center for Foreign and Security Affairs argues that its director, Shawan Jabarin, was convicted in 1985 of recruiting and arranging training for PFLP members and was described by Israel's Supreme Court in 2008 as a "senior activist" in the PFLP.[8] The same source identifies Addameer official Khalida Jarrar as having been sentenced in March 2021 for PFLP membership.[8]

Israeli allegations concerning Bisan included that executive director Ubai Aboudi was sentenced in 2020 for PFLP membership and that former executive Itiraf Hajaj, also identified as Rimawi, was sentenced in 2020 in connection with clandestine PFLP operations.[8] Regarding UPWC, the source identified officials who held positions on the PFLP Central Committee or ran for the Palestinian Legislative Council as PFLP representatives.[8]

Regarding UAWC, the source reports that USAID had identified the organization as the PFLP's "agricultural arm."[8] Former UAWC finance and administrative director Abdul Razeq Farraj was arrested in 2019 for allegedly recruiting PFLP members. UAWC accountant Samer Arbid was arrested in connection with commanding the PFLP cell responsible for the bombing that killed Rina Shnerb.[8]

The October designation authorized the confiscation of organizational assets and imposed sanctions on persons participating in the groups' activities.[9] Israeli law prohibits funding or joining designated terrorist organizations, and reports stated that donors, employees, and other supporters could face imprisonment or prosecution under Israeli military or civilian law.[10] The measure also restricted legal cooperation and support between the six groups and organizations operating in Israel and threatened to curtail their funding and activities.[3]

Because the organizations were based in the West Bank, the initial designation had limited practical effect on their daily operations there. As of November 2021, the groups could still legally operate in the territory, demonstrating that the October designation and subsequent enforcement measures were distinct stages.[3]

On November 7, 2021, IDF Central Command head Major General Yehuda Fuchs formally declared five organizations — Al-Haq, Addameer, DCI-P, Bisan, and UPWC — "unauthorized organizations" under West Bank military law. UAWC was not included in that specific order.[11] The civil-law designation in Israel and the military-law instruments applied in the West Bank were legally distinct.[4]

On August 17, 2022, Gantz rejected the appeals of Addameer, Bisan, and UPWC and finalized those designations. Fuchs rejected appeals submitted by Al-Haq and DCI-P, while reporting at the time described UAWC's ratification status as unresolved.[12][6]

Overnight into August 18, IDF forces raided seven institutions, including the offices of Addameer, Al-Haq, Bisan, and UPWC, and barred entry to the offices of all seven organizations then covered by Israeli designations.[12][13] Reports said soldiers used tear gas, prevented employees from approaching, vandalized the premises, sealed doors with iron plates, and removed equipment and materials.[13]

The Defense Ministry described the three organizations whose designations were ratified at that stage as PFLP branches operating under the guise of humanitarian activity while recruiting PFLP operatives and raising money for the group.[6] The six organizations designated in 2021 subsequently continued operating in defiance of the closure orders.[14]

The United States, Australia, the European Union, and other governments or international bodies requested additional information about the basis for the designations.[2] The U.S. State Department said Israel had not warned Washington before the announcement, while Israeli officials disputed that account.[7] The United States had never funded any of the six organizations.[14]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet described the designation as "an attack on human rights defenders, on freedoms of association, opinion and expression and on the right to public participation."[2] UN special rapporteur Clement Voule said he was "outraged" and characterized Israel's terrorism laws as "flawed," arguing that defending human rights and seeking accountability constituted legitimate work.[7] After the August 2022 raids, the United Nations said the closures appeared "totally arbitrary" and that the raids "cannot be taken lightly."[10]

In July 2022, nine European states — Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden — said Israel had not provided substantial information justifying a change in their policies toward the organizations. They said they would continue cooperation in the absence of contrary evidence.[15] Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney stated: "I don't believe the international community has been given the evidence to show that these six NGOs are contributing to terrorism."[16]

Israel provided information supporting the designations to U.S. and European officials and lawmakers. The European Union and several European countries nevertheless continued supporting the organizations, and some Members of Congress said they did not consider the Israeli evidence sufficient.[14]

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh called the designation a dangerous attack on international law, stating that the organizations operated under Palestinian law and had ties to international institutions.[17] Representatives of the organizations said the action was politically motivated, intended to damage international funding and legal activity, and would not stop them from operating or documenting alleged Israeli violations.[17]

Palestinian NGO networks PHROC and PNGO described the designations as a "sinister, unprecedented, and blanket attack on Palestinian human rights defenders and civil society organizations."[18] Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called the decision "an appalling and unjust" attack on the international human-rights movement and said it threatened prominent Palestinian civil-society groups.[18]

On October 25, 2021, twenty-two Israeli NGOs issued a joint statement supporting the designated organizations and alleging that the decision sought to criminalize documentation of human-rights abuses.[19] On August 22, 2022, 53 Israeli NGOs issued another statement of support and called on Israel and the international community to oppose the decision.[13] The UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights criticized the designations and raids as "a misuse of counterterrorism legislation that silenced human rights defenders."[13]

Before the formal designation, several financial institutions had already restricted services to the organizations. Citibank and Arab Bank closed DCI-P accounts in 2018, while Visa, Mastercard, and American Express terminated online credit-card donation services to Al-Haq and UAWC.[1] The Dutch government suspended funding to UAWC in July 2020, and an EU anti-fraud investigation involving European support for Palestinian NGOs was reported in August 2021.[1]

The designation authorized asset seizure and threatened criminal liability for donors and supporters, raising the prospect of significant disruption to international fundraising.[10] Israel urged European donors to reconsider their support. In July 2022, however, nine European governments said they would continue cooperation because they had not received substantial information justifying a change in policy.[15]

Accounts of the designation reflect a fundamental disagreement over the evidence and the proper application of counterterrorism law to organizations that also carried out documented civil-society work. Israel alleged that the six organizations were PFLP fronts that diverted foreign funding and supported terrorist recruitment and activity. The Palestinian Authority and the organizations rejected those allegations, while human-rights groups, UN officials, several European governments, and some U.S. lawmakers either opposed the designations or said the information presented did not justify them.[2][14]

Critics argued that Israel had applied its counterterrorism legislation too broadly and that the measure criminalized legitimate human-rights documentation and advocacy.[19] Israeli NGOs repeated that criticism in statements issued in October 2021 and August 2022.[13][19] The Jerusalem Center for Foreign and Security Affairs argues, by contrast, that the designation was justified under Israel's Counter-Terrorism Law and consistent with UN counterterrorism resolutions and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.[8]

Sources also differ on the date assigned to the initial action. A Washington Institute paper dates the designation to October 19, 2021, whereas the U.S. State Department report and multiple Israeli-linked accounts identify October 22 as the date of Gantz's formal announcement.[2][4] This article uses October 22 for the formal ministerial designation.

Descriptions of the action as a single "ban" can also obscure its stages. The October 2021 civil-law designations, the November military orders, and the August 2022 closure operations were separate legal and enforcement steps. The organizations could still operate legally in the West Bank for a period after the initial announcement and later continued operating in defiance of closure orders.[14][3]