The Diplomat
The Spanish government has decided not to consider six Palestinian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that Israel designated as terrorists in October last year. Spain, like eight other EU countries, considers that the Israeli government has not provided evidence to support the designation.
The same attitude as Spain has been adopted by eight other EU countries –Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and France– which consider that Israel has not provided ‘sufficient information’ for the six NGOs to be considered terrorists.
On 22 October 2021, the Israeli government, then led by Benjamin Netanyahu, declared the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, Defence for Children International, the Association for Human Rights and Prisoner Support, the Bisan Research and Development Centre, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Al-Haq organisation to be terrorists. It claimed that they provided support and funding for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a left-wing minority party, which is on the EU list of terrorist organisations.
Brussels then demanded explanations from Israel and evidence to back up the decision, which also drew criticism from the United Nations and human rights watchdogs.
On Tuesday, the Spanish Foreign Ministry, in line with those of the other eight European countries cited, issued a statement saying that “accusations of terrorism or links with terrorist groups must always be treated with the utmost rigour” and that the designations made by Israel were subjected to “extensive and careful evaluation”. It concludes: “No substantive information was received from Israel that would justify reviewing our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli decision to designate them as ‘terrorist organisations’. If evidence to the contrary were provided, we would act accordingly”.
The statement adds that, in the absence of such evidence, Spain will continue its “cooperation and strong support for civil society in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”. “A free and strong civil society is indispensable to promote democratic values and the two-state solution,” it says.
