[Opinion] Support for terrorism is not human-rights advocacy
[Excerpts]
The increase in Palestinian violence in 2023 has exposed the attitude towards terrorism adopted by European-government funded NGOs, despite their professed dedication to the cause of “universal human rights.”
This phenomenon is exemplified by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al-Haq, based in Ramallah.
These two European-backed NGOs are among the architects of high-profile anti-Israel efforts, successfully lobbying for the U.N. to create a blacklist of companies operating beyond the 1949 Armistice Line—including American firms. They also promoted the opening of an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation of Israel. Al-Haq in particular is one of the leading actors seeking to apply the apartheid label to Israel, and defines the Jewish state as inherently illegitimate.
In May 2023, as Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations launched over 1,200 rockets towards Israeli population centers—each one a war crime—PCHR published a statement in which it “affirms the Palestinian people to resist the occupation by all available means, including armed struggle.”
Under pressure from donors, this text was amended.
Statements by PCHR’s board members and officials at Al-Haq and other NGOs reveal that such attitudes are pervasive in Palestinian civil society.
