Twenty-two American congressmen denounced on Wednesday, July, 24th the Israeli occupation government’s raid and closure of several Palestinian civil society organizations.
The 22 members of Congress said, in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Director of National Intelligence in regards to the closure of key human rights organizations and terror listing them, “The lack of evidence reported to support this decision.” It raises concerns that it may be a repressive measure designed to criminalize and silence core prominent Palestinian human rights organizations. ”
The letter demanded that the United States always speak frankly against the efforts of all countries that try to undermine civil society and the necessary work of humanitarian organizations.
The letter explained that the six Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations, which are: Addameer, Al-Haq, the International Movement for Defense of Children in Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, work directly with the Palestinians.
The congressmen’s message emphasized that: “Counter-terrorism legislation should not be applied to legitimate human rights and humanitarian activities,” the legislators continued. “Moreover, repressive methods such as criminalizing organizations must not be used to suppress or deny the right to freedom of association, suppress political opposition, or limit the peaceful activities of civil society. ”
In their letter, the lawmakers demanded an interagency briefing to discuss the designation and a report to Congress on their efforts within 30 days.
Among the signatories to the letter are members of Congress: Eleanor Holmes Norton, James Waters, Betty McCollum, Rashida Tlaib, Donald Payne Jr., Hank Johnson, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Corey Bush.
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