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Parts of Gaza in the Palestinian Territory have been completely destroyed: Nevertheless, Israel now bans non-governmental organizations
Photo: HAITHAM IMAD / EPA
The Israeli government has classified six influential Palestinian non-governmental organizations as "terrorist organizations."
The groups - including the human rights organization Al-Hak and the Addameer prisoners' association - have ties to the militant Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), it said in a statement.
The organizations are among other things crucial for the financing of the PFLP.
They had received large sums of money from European countries with which payments were also made to the families of assassins.
It also said that any activities of the groups in the country were prohibited by this decision.
Anyone who joins or supports them could be prosecuted.
Israel will turn to international institutions that support these organizations financially or work with them.
The aim is to end this aid.
The human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch criticized Israel's decision.
"This terrible and unjust decision is an attack by the Israeli government on the international human rights movement," it said in a joint statement.
Classification as "terrorist" would "effectively prohibit" the activities of the organizations.
Palestinians criticize ban as "disturbing attack"
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the organization's classification as a "disturbing attack on Palestinian civil society and defenders of human rights."
The US government was initially cautious: The US would first ask its "Israeli partners" for more information, said the State Department spokesman, Ned Price. Washington had not been informed of the move in advance. The US government is generally of the opinion that "respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and a strong civil society are of vital importance," said Price.
The affected Palestinian organizations have long been in the focus of the Israeli security authorities.
The domestic secret service Schin Bet said in May that there was evidence that millions of euros in aid from several European countries, including Germany, had flowed into the "militant terrorist activities of the PFLP".
The PFLP is also classified by the EU as a »terrorist organization«.
hba / dpa / AFP