Edited by: TJVNews.com
On Friday, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour wrote a letter to the President of the Security Council demanding condemnation of Israel’s declaration of six Palestinian organizations as terror organizations.
Here are some key points from his letter:
“In light of recent developments, I must once more draw the international community’s urgent attention to Israel’s escalating illegal policies and practices in Occupied Palestine. Unfazed by the continual demands for cessation, including by the Security Council, Israel persists with its colonization of our land and systematic repression of our people with impunity, confident it will not be held accountable under the law.
This brazen impunity has led, inter alia, to yet another attack by Israel, the occupying Power, on Palestinian civil society organizations in a clear attempt to intimidate and forcibly silence their reporting and exposure of Israel’s violations against the Palestinian people. Seemingly assured there will be no consequences for such aggression against human rights defenders, today Israeli Minister Gantz declared six leading Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as “terrorist” organizations.
This false and libelous slander is part of a systematic campaign against Palestinian civil society for daring to expose the occupation’s crimes, including violations against women and children. It is another attack on the Palestinian people’s fundamental right to oppose this illegal occupation and expose and resist its crimes. The international community cannot permit such a blatant assault without consequence.
We call on the Security Council, the General Assembly and all other relevant actors to clearly condemn and reject such actions by the occupying Power and to defend these organizations’ right to carry out their civil society roles and work without persecution and to defend the Palestinian people’s right to advocate for their freedom and human rights and stand against such constant defamation and dehumanization. Moreover, we stress that Israel, the occupying Power, is fully responsible for the safety of the staff of these organizations after such slanderous incitement against them.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Gilad Erdan responded, “During my tenure as Minister of Strategic Affairs, I published a detailed report proving the connection between some Palestinian organizations and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization, revealing how many of the organizations’ staff are terrorists with a history of involvement in terrorist attacks. After a joint operation by the Shin Bet and the IDF, the Defense Minister signed an order declaring six Popular Front organizations in Judea and Samaria terrorist organizations after it was proven that they were part of a network of organizations operating in the international arena to support terrorist organizations.
In response, the Palestinians were expected to continue their campaign of lies. It is time for the UN to understand that the Palestinian “civilian” organizations are a cover for terrorist and boycott, divestment and sanctions activities against Israel. These people are terrorists in suits.”
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