Using UNICEF Funds, B’Tselem Recycles Distortions on Military Justice
In response to “Minors in Jeopardy,” a publication released today by B’Tselem, NGO Monitor issued the following statement:
Publications: | Reports, Books, Academic Publications, Submissions, Resource Pages |
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Other Content Types: | Press Releases, In The Media, Presentations, Posts, , Key Issues |
Funders: | European Union |
Start date: | 1 Jan 1988 |
End date: | 17 Jul 2019 |
In response to “Minors in Jeopardy,” a publication released today by B’Tselem, NGO Monitor issued the following statement:
This report provides background on the situation of women and women’s groups within Palestinian society. The report analyses the highly restrictive and coercive civil space and provides an overview of Palestinian female role models, the vast majority of whom are celebrated for their participation in violent “resistance.” The report also looks at the role of the international community in perpetuating this state of affairs, whether through funding of radical Palestinian NGOs, or through granting international legitimacy to these groups in multilateral forums such as the UN.
European funding for strengthening civil society should consider whether some NGO recipients may actually be contributing to shrinking civil space. At least one Palestinian organization uses control of foreign donations to enforce uniformity of thought amongst local NGOs.
Human Rights Watch is a powerful NGO, with a massive budget, close links to Western governments, and significant influence in international institutions. Its publications reflect the absence of professional standards, research methodologies, and military and legal expertise, as well as a deep-seated ideological bias against Israel. HRW’s review of “Israel and Palestine: Events of 2017,” reflects these same methodological flaws, resulting in a highly skewed representation of Israeli domestic and international law.
On January 12, 2017, the European Union Representative and the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah issued a “statement on the situation regarding Palestinian children arrested, detained and prosecuted by Israeli authorities.” The statement unsubtly implies misconduct and ill-treatment by Israeli authorities – echoing a well-coordinated NGO campaign that accuses Israel of “grave violations” against children in order to advocate for Israel’s isolation – while providing no verifiable evidence.
Prof. Steinberg's open letter to the Dutch Foreign Minister, Mr. Halbe Zijlstra.
Military Court Watch is an opaque organization that claims to work on issues related to ensuring children are protected under international law. In reality, MCW’s activities are part of a broader non-governmental organization (NGO) propaganda campaign that exploits concerns over children’s rights to demonize Israel. The NGO was founded and is led by Gerard Horton, who was previously involved with the Palestinian NGO Defense for Children International – Palestine, which promotes a similar agenda.
The European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Palestine held a conference, “Fifty Years of Occupation and Counting: Is it time for a new EU Policy on the Middle East Peace Process?” The conference featured politicians, academics, and NGO officials advocating Israel’s isolation and calling on the European Union and other countries to increase international pressure and to impose sanctions on Israel. None of the speakers advocated for dialogue and/or negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis.
On October 16, 2017, the Council of the European Union adopted the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2016. The report makes several misleading, inconsistent, and grossly inaccurate claims, as well as disregards a number of EU norms and official stances. The publication fails to provide references or any verifiable sources, violating basic rules of evidence. The degree to which these sections copy from and rely on problematic reports by advocacy NGOs highlights the broader issue of EU outsourcing of responsibility for analysis and policy-making without oversight.