JERUSALEM, February 24, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities denied a work permit application for the Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch on the grounds that it was “not a real human rights group,” the organization said Friday in a press statement.
In its February 20, 2017 letter denying a work permit for Omar Shakir, the Israeli Interior Ministry cited an opinion received from the Foreign Ministry that Human Rights Watch‘s “public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of ‘human rights.‘”
The organization said the denial came as the Israeli authorities seek to the space for local and international human rights groups to operate in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPT).
“This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel‘s commitment to basic democratic values," said Iain Levine, deputy executive director of program at Human Rights Watch.
“It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda,” he added.
Human Rights Watch said the decision was “particularly surprising” given that the organization regularly meets and corresponds with Israeli government officials, including representatives of the military, the police, and the Foreign Ministry.
The organization added that last year, it was asked by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to intervene in a case involving Israeli victims of human rights abuses.
“The decision marks an ominous turn after nearly three decades during which Human Rights Watch staff have had regular access without impediments to Israel and the West Bank. Israel, though, has refused Human Rights Watch access to Gaza since 2010, except for one visit in 2016,” the statement read.
The organization slammed “increasing pressure on human rights defenders operating in Israel and Palestine” and citied the so-called NGO bill, that was passed by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in July 2016.
The organization decried the bill, saying that it “targets human right groups, imposing onerous reporting requirements that burden their advocacy.”
It noted Israeli officials have directly accused Israeli advocacy groups of "slander" and discrediting the state or army. Palestinian rights defenders have received anonymous death threats and have been subject to travel restrictions, and even arrests and criminal charges.
Refuting Israeli characterization that it “promotes Palestinian propaganda”, Human Rights Watch said this characterization does not square with the research and advocacy that the organization conducts to challenge violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by all actors in the region.
“The Israeli government is hardly the only one to disagree with our well-researched findings, but efforts to stifle the messenger signal that it has no appetite for serious scrutiny of its human rights record,” Levine said. “We hope the Israeli authorities will reverse this decision and allow both international and domestic human rights groups to work freely.”
Human Rights Watch explained that it applied to the Population and Immigration Authority, within Israel‘s Ministry of Interior, on July 14, 2016, for a work permit on behalf of Shakir, a United States citizen. While Interior Ministry regulations provide that a decision should be provided within 60 days, Human Rights Watch did not receive a reply until February 20, 2017.
It added that it has retained counsel and intends to challenge the decision before an Israeli district court.
K.F.
