Israeli Forces Raid Palestinian NGOs in the West Bank Ahead of Israeli Elections

Por Amy Goodman — Truthout

The raids come four years after the forced closure of multiple NGOs that Israel designated as “terrorist” organizations.

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size.

Israeli forces have raided what they say are the offices of several Palestinian NGOs in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian officials say a child was injured from Israeli gunfire, while others suffered from tear gas inhalation. At least one journalist was reportedly detained in the raids, which come four years after the forced closure of multiple NGOs that the Israeli government designated as “terrorist” organizations.

“This is part of the whole propaganda show that this government is actually implementing just before the Israeli election,” says human rights lawyer Sahar Francis. “They just wanted to cause harassment, and this is the main message: the persecution and the collective punishment for the whole Palestinian community.” Francis was formerly the general director at Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, one of the organizations that Israel claims to have raided this week despite the fact that it was already forced to close its West Bank offices in 2022.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

In the latest crackdown on human rights defenders in the occupied West Bank Tuesday, Israeli forces raided what they say are the offices of several Palestinian NGOs, confiscating legal files, court records, valuable equipment. Israeli forces also deployed snipers around the entrances to Ramallah’s Palestine Medical Complex, the largest government medical facility in the occupied West Bank. At least one journalist was reportedly detained. Palestinian officials say a child was injured from Israeli gunfire; others suffered from tear gas inhalation.

For more in these last few minutes, we go to Ramallah, where we’re joined by Sahar Francis, human rights lawyer, previous general director at Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, which is one of the groups that Israel just raided.

Sahar Francis, welcome back to Democracy Now! We had you on when you were the head of Addameer, which is the prisoner support and human rights group in the West Bank. I was watching overnight when Israel was raiding, because Al Jazeera was showing the raid live. But these offices, in fact, of your group, your previous group, Addameer, and others, the Palestine Women’s Association, were already closed — is that right? — years ago, because the Israeli government classified these organizations as terrorist. So, what were they raiding?

SAHAR FRANCIS: Exactly. Good afternoon, and thanks for inviting me again to join you in this important discussion.

As you just said, these offices actually were raided in 2020. We were, too, forced closure after the decision to designate the six Palestinian organizations as terrorist organizations. They confiscated property and stole files and equipments at that time.

So, what happened yesterday, I would claim that this is part of the whole propaganda show that this government is actually implementing just before the Israeli election, couple of weeks before the Israeli election, to send a very clear message to the whole Palestinian society, and especially to the Palestinian Authority, because the offices they raided is very close to the official governmental offices and other ministries in Ramallah city, that “We are the masters. We decide what we will do. You cannot interfere. You cannot protect nothing to do with your sovereignty in even Ramallah city, that is supposed to be an Area A.”

And what happened yesterday, they were not confiscating property for illegal organization, claiming that this property is used to support terrorism. And I’m sure you all saw in the videos that were presented by the different media, local or international, that they mostly broke and destroyed the files and the equipment, even the windows. The refrigerator in this office that they claimed it belongs for Addameer, they were throwing it from the second floor down to the ground. They just wanted to cause harassment, and this is the main message: the persecution and the collective punishment for the whole Palestinian community. The raid onto the city center Ramallah is not a lonely activity. It happens every day that they raid different villages, different cities. They arrest people, including journalists and human rights defenders.

And what’s most important to highlight in our case, that the office they raided yesterday, claiming that it’s for Addameer, basically it’s a legal office led by lawyers who are representing Palestinian prisoners, which means if you claim that this is illegal or a terrorist action, this means, at the end, that the legal representation for the Palestinian prisoners in front of the Israeli military courts is considered a terror act. Seriously? This is the message that they wanted to highlight. Actually, this is very, like, bizarre and disgraceful, I think, even for their image. And the other organization they claim that they raided, this organization was closed back in 2022. Since then, it doesn’t exist there at all, not even as —

AMY GOODMAN: Sahar, we only have 30 seconds, but I want to ask what message you think Israel is sending, at the same time the U.S. is sanctioning the International Criminal Court, overall, as an institution.

SAHAR FRANCIS: That we don’t respect the international law, we are not respecting the treaties and the institutions that implement and protect international human rights law, and we don’t care, because we are not accountable. And this is the time for sanctions.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you so much for being with us, Sahar Francis, human rights lawyer, previous general director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, speaking to us from occupied Ramallah.

That does it for our show today. A very happy birthday to my favorite news hound, Zazu! I wish her a happy birthday, as well as her brother Kasha as they turn 6 years old today.

Oh, and this news: Steal This Story, the documentary about Democracy Now!, is viewable online for the first time. If you live in the U.S. and Canada, you can watch the film in your own home. We did it live last night with a post-screening Q&A with me and the Oscar-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa. Well, it’s now there at Eventive. You can get information about it at StealThisStory.org. I’ll be in Woodstock at 2:00 on Friday. Check our website at democracynow.org, at the Woodstock International Film Festival, and beyond. I’m Amy Goodman.

Truthout is one of only a few platforms for justice-oriented, grassroots journalism. Today, we face an existential threat.

Due to Google’s launch of AI search, we’ve seen a drastic plunge in our site traffic and, as a result, our revenue. We lost 15 percent of our readership overnight. This was a readership we painstakingly built over decades, and it vanished because Google chose corporate greed over a healthy democracy.

We are fundraising right now to meet our basic operating expenses. If you can support Truthout with a one-time or monthly donation, you will make a significant impact on our work. Anything you can do makes a difference — we appreciate your support.

Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on more than 1,100 public television and radio stations worldwide. Time Magazine named Democracy Now! its “Pick of the Podcasts,” along with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day.

Truthout must raise $46,000 for our basic publishing costs this month. We are appealing to our readers to make a one-time or monthly donation. Donate now if you can!

Fonte: Truthout