UN to investigate Israeli harassment of B'Tselem, rights groups

A United Nations expert said Friday that he will examine the Israeli government’s treatment of human rights groups in the region in his next report.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

29 October, 2016

Israel is coming under fire for its treatment of rights groups investigating its violations [AFP]

A United Nations expert said Friday that he will examine the Israeli government’s treatment of human rights groups in the region in his next report.

Michael Lynk, the UN’s special representative on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, said that human rights defenders in the region face scorn and he accused Israel of trying to delegitimise their work.

“I am in full support of the statements and the appearance of B’Tselem, the American Friends of Peace Now and any other organizations that appear before the United Nations, trying to highlight the violations of human rights, the violations of humanitarian law and to remind us this occupation is entrenched, is dripping in human rights violations,” he added.

In a statement, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon called Lynk’s comments offensive and claimed it “shows the immense damage done by Israeli organisations that defame us in front of the international community.”

Following Israel's rebukes, the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem vowed to continue its struggle against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

"We will continue saying the truth in Israel and abroad: the occupation must end," B'Tselem said in a statement.

The uproar came after Hagai El-Ad, B'Tselem's executive director, participated in a special session of the UN Security Council on Friday, where he urged the Security Council to take actions against the expansion of the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

This prompted Israel's PM Binyamin Netanyahu to lash out at the group, calling it a "shoddy and unhinged" organisation.

He said the group has joined the "chorus of mudslinging" and accused it of spreading the "false claim that the occupation and the settlements are the reason for the conflict."

The Israeli prime minister added he would move to ban young national service volunteers from working with B'Tselem.

B'Tselem responded that it "believed the Israeli public deserved a serious debate on the occupation," noting the "wall-to-wall objection to the occupation and settlements at the Security Council".

B'Tselem, established in 1989, is one of the largest human rights groups in Israel. It works with local Palestinian volunteers to document daily life and violations of human rights in occupied Palestinian territories.