The United Nations and the European Union are enraged, while the Biden White House has expressed “concern” after Israel shut down offices of several Palestinian NGOs linked to the terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Biden State Department Spokesman Ned “Price told reporters in Washington that the U.S. was ‘concerned’ about the raids and closures, adding that civil society is an ‘integral element to thriving democracies,'” PBS reported.
On Thursday, Israeli security forces raided and closed down the West Bank offices of seven NGOs that had previously been designated as terrorist entities because of their affiliation to the PFLP, a terrorist group banned by the U.S., the European Union, and other Western countries.
“During an arrest operation in the West Bank, Israeli security forces, including the IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Border Police closed down seven institutions that had ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Including six that Defense Minister Benny Gantz previously declared as terrorist organizations,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
Reuters reported the dismayed reaction of the Biden White House, the UN, and the EU:
The designation, which has drawn criticism from the United Nations and human rights watchdogs, was ratified on Wednesday for three of them. The United Nations called for the designations to be revoked.“Despite offers to do so, Israeli authorities have not presented to the United Nations any credible evidence to justify these declarations,” the UN Human Rights Office said in a statement. “As such, the closures appear totally arbitrary.”The U.S. State Department said Israel had told the United States it would provide more information on the reasons behind the decision to close the organizations after Washington contacted Israeli officials.“We will review what is provided to us and come to our own conclusion,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.Nine European Union countries have said they will continue working with the groups, citing a lack of evidence for the Israeli accusation.
PBS reported that the Biden administration “was seeking more information from senior Israeli officials” over the anti-terror raid. It is unclear what “more information” the White House needs, given that the Israeli government has repeatedly released details linking NGOs to the PFLP terrorist group.
As Legal Insurrection reported, citing an official Israeli report as early as February 2019, “at least 30 active and “retired” terrorists were on the payrolls” of some of these NGOs. These terrorist figures included PFLP’s serial airplane hijacker Leila Khaled.
The PFLP, a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist group, first gained international notoriety in the 1970s for carrying out a series of deadly aircraft hijackings — often in collusion with foreign terrorist groups, such as Germany’s leftwing Baader-Meinhof Gang. The PFLP continues terror attacks against Israeli civilians and military personnel.
The European governments were at the forefront of the protest, with their diplomats turning up at the office of one such terror-linked NGO to demonstrate their “support.”
“A delegation of mostly European diplomats visited al-Haq’s office hours after the raid in a show of support,” The Associated Press reported Thursday.
The collective anger of European diplomats over shutting down these terrorism-tied groups is understandable. After all, the EU and European governments are the biggest funders of this covert PFLP operation masquerading as a network of NGOs and charities.
“Independent research conducted by NGO Monitor shows that in 2011-2021, the European Commission alone provided at least €28 million for projects featuring these NGOs as implementing partners,” The Jerusalem Post noted in June 2022. “Together with other European governments, the total exceeds €200 million to a network of at least 13 NGOs linked to the PFLP.”
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