"Despite declaring that ‘the hallmark and pride of Human Rights Watch is the even-handedness and accuracy of our reporting,’ regrettably, the NGO’s seeming commitment to justice and truth is largely absent without leave in this year’s report on Palestinian terrorism and Israeli defensive actions. The section headlined ‘Israel, the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Palestinian Authority Territories’ hardly provides a balanced account of the human rights violations in the region. HRW levels numerous accusations against Israel, a liberal and open democracy attempting to survive in a very hostile environment, compared to with the relatively few expressions of concern against the Palestinian authoritarian and terrorism-sponsoring leadership of Yasser Arafat, clearly contradict its NGO’s lofty goals. Indeed, in its report, HRW has continued to be a major contributor to the political and ideological effort to delegitimize Israel, continuing from the notorious Durban conference of September 2001."