Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
A UN commission of inquiry stated that the rights of members of civil society in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory are being violated by the authorities in all regions through harassment, threats, arrests, interrogations, arbitrary detention, torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment.
This came in a report issued by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, submitted to the Human Rights Council. According to the United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received on Friday morning.
The report found that the majority of violations are committed by the Israeli authorities "as part of the goal of the Government of Israel to ensure and maintain its permanent occupation at the expense of the rights of the Palestinian people."
Criminalization of civil society organizations
The UN report stated that the Israeli government has increasingly restricted civic space through a strategy of delegitimizing and silencing civil society. This includes criminalizing Palestinian civil society organizations and their members by designating them as "terrorists", exerting pressure and threats on institutions that provide a platform for civil society dialogue, exerting heavy pressure on donors and implementing measures aimed at cutting off sources of funding and support.
The report verified that the classification by the Israeli authorities of six Palestinian NGOs as "terrorist" organizations, and the classification of a seventh Palestinian organization as illegal, was unjustified and a violation of basic human rights.
The report also showed that Palestinian authorities in the occupied West Bank and Gaza target Palestinian human rights defenders and civil society activists with the aim of silencing dissenting views.
"We concluded that all responsible actors are involved in limiting the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful association," said Navi Pele, chair of the investigation committee.
It expressed concern about the situation of Palestinian human rights defenders "who are frequently subjected to a range of punitive measures as part of the occupation regime".
She said those measures have wide-ranging repercussions for children as well, contributing to the breakdown of families and increasing psychological trauma and fear
The Commission of Inquiry conducted more than 127 interviews with victims, witnesses, experts and others for the preparation of this report.
  These interviews included public and closed hearings held in Geneva in November 2022 and March 2023.
The investigation committee devoted an important part of the report to reviewing restrictive policies and practices and their impact on various civil society groups, including journalists, women human rights defenders, artists, cultural activists, and Palestinian cultural centers that promote diversity and inclusion of LGBTQ people (which includes homosexuals and transgender people).

The report found that Palestinian journalists were particularly targeted and subjected to frequent harassment and punitive measures, apparently as part of an attempt to deter them from continuing their work. Israeli journalists are also increasingly monitored and harassed, and they increasingly practice self-censorship for fear of harassment and losing their jobs.
Targeting women human rights defenders
The report stated that women human rights defenders face great risks because of their visibility and their role in the struggle for societal and political change. They have been specifically targeted by Palestinian state actors and anti-gender rights groups because they are seen as challenging religious and cultural norms and the status quo.
“Women human rights defenders and demonstrators have been subjected to gender-based stigmatization and isolation compared to their male counterparts, including sexual and gender-based violence during protests, online harassment and defamation campaigns with the sole aim of discrediting them and deterring them from activism,” said Melon Kothari, member of the Investigative Committee. in public places".
Targeting NGOs
The report focused primarily on the actions of the authorities, but it also found that some NGOs play a key role in silencing civil society in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel and in pressuring those around the world who defend Palestinian rights.
He said right-wing organizations in Israel and abroad are "effectively implementing and promoting the Israeli government's strategy against civil society." The report added that Palestinian groups against gender rights in the occupied West Bank target Palestinian women human rights defenders.
The UN report also stated that both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities allow, and in some cases encourage and support, NGO actions targeting civil society actors.
violations of international law
The report found reasonable grounds to conclude that several Israeli measures taken against civil society organizations constitute violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law and may constitute crimes under international law.
These measures include the arbitrary detention and forcible transfer of members of civil society organizations from the Occupied Palestinian Territory to Israel in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the revocation of residency permits in East Jerusalem, and the deportation of a human rights defender from East Jerusalem.
"We have no doubt that the revocation of the residency permit of human rights defender Salah Al-Hamouri in East Jerusalem based on the alleged 'violation of allegiance to the State of Israel' constitutes a war crime," said committee member Chris Sidoti.
Recommendations
The report recommended that all responsible authorities ensure respect and protection of the right to freedom of association, expression, opinion, peaceful assembly, economic, social and cultural rights, including health, housing and education, and that civil society actors be Civilians, including human rights defenders, journalists, and women human rights defenders, are able to carry out their activities safely and freely, without being subjected to harassment or reprisals.

Also among the recommendations of the report is that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court prioritize investigation of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the identification of the direct perpetrators of violations, persons responsible for command, and individuals who assist or participate in the commission of crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court.