Goal Of Israel's Raid On Palestinian NGOs Was To Stop UN And ICC Investigations

Sahar Francis explains how the Zionist state is smearing Palestinian human rights organizations as ‘terrorist’ groups to crush any resistance to the occupation and annexation of Palestine.

In August 2022, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted dawn raids on the offices of seven Palestinian human rights NGOs. The targeted organizations included groups working to support Palestinian women and children, as well as political prisoners. The Israeli government justified shutting down the organizations under the pretext that they were fronts for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The organizations have rigorously denied the allegations, and vowed to continue their work in spite of Israeli repression. Sahar Francis, General Director of the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, joins The Marc Steiner Show to explain why these organizations have come into the crosshairs of the Israeli government. Francis explains that a key motivation for the raids was the work of her and other organizations to advance investigations for Israel’s crimes through the UN and International Criminal Court. In order to consolidate the occupation and complete the annexation of Palestine, the Israeli government must target and destroy any resistance. While Francis denies the allegations of Addameer’s connections to the PFLP, she points out that the PFLP is not considered a terrorist organization under international law due to the special circumstance of Palestine as an occupied territory.

Since 2006, Sahar Francis has been the General Director of Ramallah-based Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a Palestinian NGO providing legal and advocacy support to Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons.