Israel’s attack on human rights a political own goal

It has been clear for some time now that no further evidence is required to show that the decades of Israel’s occupation and blockade, affecting millions of Palestinians, have grossly undermined its moral standing in this conflict.

However, in addition to this, we are also increasingly seeing how it has led to brain fog among Israeli decision-makers. It is part of a long process caused by the complacency and arrogance of power on the part of those with total control over the lives of others.

The latest example of this unreasonable behavior was provided on Oct. 19 by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who signed an order declaring six civil society organizations operating in the West Bank to be terrorist groups, thereby outlawing some of the most prominent Palestinian human rights organizations. These groups are not only working to mitigate the oppressive nature of the Israeli occupation, but also the increasingly authoritarian inclinations of the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli security authorities allege that these organizations, which as defenders of human rights command much respect among Palestinians as well as the international community, have used “large sums of money from European countries and international organizations ... using a variety of forgery and deceit” to support the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is classified as a terrorist group.

This might be true or it might be false, or it might possibly reflect a more nuanced engagement between the human rights organizations and the PFLP. Nevertheless, Israeli authorities cannot expect these allegations to be accepted at face value without providing a shred of evidence — and we have yet to see any.

It might be the case that Gantz and the security agencies are convinced that these organizations have a case to answer. But considering Israel’s record on human rights in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, no one is going to be convinced unless they are fully transparent. Otherwise, how could Israel genuinely expect anyone to even remotely believe these allegations, made by a single minister who has the power to enforce such a decision without consulting the Cabinet, only because different laws apply to the Occupied Territories than to Israel within the Green Line?

The six organizations deny the allegations. For those of us familiar with their work, it sounds completely outlandish that they would not only ideologically support terrorism, but also risk jeopardizing their extremely revered work of defending the most vulnerable people in Palestinian society by getting involved with funding terrorism.

Moreover, these are seasoned civil society activists who are well aware that their work is monitored around the clock by the Israeli security forces, who are constantly on the lookout for any signs of misdemeanor that might compromise their credibility and provide an excuse to cut their international funding and terminate their operations.

On the balance of likelihood and past experience, this latest development more likely fits into the bigger picture of the concerted and ongoing attacks on civil society, both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories.

Activists from Israeli human rights organizations have suffered vitriolic abuse, had their loyalty to their country questioned and been threatened with physical harm. In the West Bank, these organizations suffer from unabated harassment from Israeli security forces, which act with impunity.

But let us set aside for a moment the morality of Gantz’s act and the self-inflicted harm it causes to Israeli democracy and instead question the wisdom of the decision. It comes at a time when the international community, regrettably, is paying little attention to the Palestinian issue and the plight of those living under occupation and blockade. The assault on these six organizations led to instant and universal condemnation from many quarters of the international community, including the US State Department, which complained about not being informed of the decision in advance.

So, given the mysterious ways in which Israeli politics works and its approach to the Palestinians, we should maybe thank Gantz, who since entering politics has not distinguished himself as a particularly astute statesman, or even politician. We should thank him for bringing back to the public consciousness, and hopefully conscience, at home and abroad, the arbitrary and oppressive nature of the Israeli occupation.

In no other functioning democratic system would a defense minister have the power, without a transparent legal process and without consulting his colleagues in government, to sign a decree declaring a cluster of human rights groups as terrorist organizations. But thanks to just such a decision, the international community has received a reminder — and the ball is in its court for an adequate response to Gantz’s ill-judged decree.

Not surprisingly, despite strong extreme-right elements in the Israeli government — including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett himself — not many were impressed by Gantz’s decision. Some saw it as a move by a disgruntled politician who not so long ago thought he was within touching distance of becoming prime minister but, before the last general election, misjudged the situation and ended up with vastly reduced support for his party.

Others were more upset with him for shining a light on the unresolved Palestinian issue, for the role of Israel in that, and for forcing the international community to react. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet did indeed react, saying: “Claiming rights before a UN or other international body is not an act of terrorism, advocating for the rights of women in the occupied Palestinian territory is not terrorism, and providing legal aid to detained Palestinians is not terrorism.” Her words were endorsed by human rights organizations and politicians in many parts of the world.

So, thank you, Mr. Gantz, for bringing to the world’s attention the fact that Palestinians are deprived not only of their political rights, including self-determination, but also of their most basic human rights, which can be taken from them with hardly any recourse to law by the occupying power.

No one questions Israel’s legitimate right to combat terrorism, but this cannot be used as an excuse to ban legitimate human rights activities and humanitarian work, to mask systematic suppression of the right to freedom of association or to quash political dissent and silence freedom of speech.

When this happens, the international community must hold Israel accountable — and the recent folly of declaring these six civil society organizations as terrorist groups has highlighted the full force and urgency of this issue.

• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg