Palestinian officials on Thursday (October 22nd) condemned Israel's decision to regard the student wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) as a "
terrorist
"
organization
.
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The Jewish state, as well as the European Union, have for years considered the PFLP, a Palestinian armed group of Marxist persuasion - linked according to the Israeli authorities to the murder last year of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank - as a terrorist organization.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Israeli General Tamir Yadai, commander for the "
central
" region, which corresponds to the territory of the occupied West Bank, said the Israeli military considered the "
Progressive Democratic Pole
" bloc
, the student arm of the PFLP. , as an "
illegal and terrorist
" organization.
The student branch of the PFLP has committed "
for years
" "
acts of destruction which have caused the death of many Israeli citizens,
" the army accused, claiming that this student movement "was
recruiting young men to commit acts of terrorism
" .
"
Student organization and unarmed
"
Palestinian Social Development Minister Ahmed Majdalani on Thursday denounced the decision, saying in a statement to AFP that "
Progressive Democratic Pole
" was a "
student organization and not armed
".
The Israeli authorities have increased the arrests of people deemed to be close to this movement, several activists arrested saying, however, to be linked to the political and non-military branch of the movement.
This announcement by the Israeli authorities is "
dangerous
" because it risks "
strengthening
" the "
repression
" against young Palestinian activists, added Ahmed Majdalani.
In its statement, the IDF identified activists from the student wing of the PFLP arrested in recent months for their participation in "
terrorist activities against Israel
."
The Israeli authorities have arrested "
more than 60 Palestinian students since the beginning of the year,
" PFLP youth official Ahmed Al-Tanani told AFP, adding fear of further waves of arrests.