Palestine Legal Joins Call on Dutch Gov’t to Reverse Defunding of Palestinian Farmers’ Group

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Palestine Legal joined 60 global NGOs in calling on the Dutch government to reverse their decision to end funding to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) in Palestine and to reject Israel’s politically motivated designations of Palestinian civil society organizations as “terrorists.” 

UAWC is one of six prominent Palestinian civil society and human rights groups Israel named as "terrorist institutions," subjecting them to harsh sanctions under a draconian Israeli law in October 2021.

Israel has long targeted these organizations because they are doing critical work to expose Israel’s constant violations of Palestinian rights, including by pressuring international funders to stop funding these Palestinians organizations.

Earlier this month, the Dutch government made a spineless decision to cut off aid to UAWC following baseless accusations from the Israeli government, despite a clear lack of evidence.

The Dutch government's report acknowledged there is no evidence supporting Israeli claims that UAWC is a "front" for the PFLP, a Palestinian political party designated by Israel and other governments as a "terrorist" organization. The Dutch factual investigation confirmed that there are no organizational links between UAWC and the PFLP.

The letter from international NGOs concludes that the Dutch decision was not based on evidence, but was “clearly politically-motivated and responding to Israeli pressure.”

The attacks on UAWC are an attack on Palestinians' ability to feed and sustain themselves and to remain on their land in the face of occupation. As human rights advocates have pointed out, UAWC's work is crucial to supporting Palestinian farmers and herders in Area C - the 60% of the West Bank under full Israeli control, where illegal settlements encroach on Palestinian land.

All of this amounts to a propaganda attack on Palestinian human rights defenders that is not substantiated by facts. As the letter warns, the Dutch decision “has far-reaching negative implications for Palestinian civil society as a whole and for international stakeholders. It fuels Israel’s escalating attack on civic space and exposes other donors and stakeholders to targeted pressure campaigns."

Palestine Legal is dedicated to ensuring that Israel’s designations are discredited, and to protecting groups in the U.S. against repercussions of the designations.

We urge allies to continue to speak out and protest these designations, to ensure these groups are not isolated, and to pressure their governments to reject and denounce Israel’s efforts to criminalize Palestinian civil society organizations.

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