By Yuval Abraham, +972 Magazine
When Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed an executive order last week declaring six Palestinian human rights groups as “terrorist organizations,” the government did not even bother with putting on a facade of due process. With the swift stroke of a pen, the NGOs — Al-Haq, Addameer, Bisan Center, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union for Agricultural Work Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees — were instantly outlawed with neither a trial nor the opportunity to respond to the accusations against them.
Yet rather than question the dubious nature of this move, the vast majority of Israeli media outlets simply cribbed the Defense Ministry’s official statement on the matter, which accused the six organizations of serving as “arms” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) — a secular, Marxist-Leninist party and movement deemed a terrorist group by Israel.

The government claimed that the NGOs whitewashed funds intended for humanitarian reasons and transferred them for military purposes instead, further accusing the organizations’ employees of belonging, either in the past or present, to the PFLP. Right-wing Israeli groups, too, have for years tried to draw connections between these organizations and the PFLP in an effort to cut off their funding abroad.
The Defense Ministry’s decision was based on intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet, which it has not revealed to the public. But according to sources with knowledge of the legal case, the agency’s evidence is reportedly based on the testimony of a sole employee who was terminated from one of the organizations for corruption.
Evidence that contradicts the Shin Bet’s account, however, exists in spades. Over the past five years, under pressure from the Israeli government and pro-Israel NGOs, multiple European governments and private foundations that provide funding to Palestinian civil society have conducted extensive audits of each of the six organizations. None found any evidence of foul play.
Recent Posts
Politicians Are Betraying Gen Z On Climate
July 10, 2025
Take Action Now While Gen-Zers thrift, knit, crochet, and find other ways to reduce our footprints, Trump and the GOP are greenlighting more climate…
Trump’s Deportation Threat Against Zohran Mamdani Is Shameful
July 10, 2025
Take Action Now In only half a year of Donald Trump’s presidency, he and his allies have turned deportation into an explicitly political threat…
Teachers Union Votes To Cut Ties To The Anti-Defamation League
July 10, 2025
Take Action Now In a momentous vote, the National Education Association voted to cut all ties with the Anti-Defamation League. The reason? “Despite…
2025 War Abolisher Awards Go To Albanese, Nader, Waters
July 9, 2025
Take Action Now The purpose of the awards is to honor and encourage support for those working to abolish the institution of war itself.By World…