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"Nongovernmental" Organizations in the Palestinian Territories Toe the Authorities' Line

(Wall Street Journal) Benny Avni - Israel's designation of six Arab "nongovernmental" organizations operating in areas under the Palestinian Authority's jurisdiction as terrorist groups has been widely criticized. But if the agenda of the groups is all but identical to that of a body they consider their government, are they really "nongovernmental"? From detailing real and imagined evils of the occupation to supplying the International Criminal Court with materials for prosecuting Israeli officials, there's almost no daylight between Palestinian NGOs and the PA. The Israelis say the six groups are a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU. But the PFLP is also a member in good standing of the Palestine Liberation Organization, whose chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, is also president of the Palestinian Authority. The organizations' fundraising finances PFLP terrorism. A healthy civil society needs watchdog groups to expose malfeasance in its own government, not in the one it considers an enemy. Must America so cavalierly join a false designation of six highly suspect groups as "nongovernmental" organizations?
2021-11-01 00:00:00
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