Palestinian rights groups accuse Israel of ‘mafia modus operandi’ as UN hearings open – Middle East Monitor

Palestinian human rights groups told a UN panel on Monday they had been subjected to intimidation and “mafia methods” during a campaign of harassment organized by Israel to silence groups documenting alleged human rights abuses by Israel. Told. Reuters report.

Israel dismissed the process overseen by the panel as fraudulent, but declined to comment on specific allegations.

An independent commission of inquiry, set up last year by the United Nations’ highest human rights body, the Human Rights Council, plans to hold five days of hearings, saying it will be impartial and will investigate the allegations of both Israelis and Palestinians. says.

During the opening session, the Committee heard from representatives of Palestinian organizations. closed by Israel In August, it was designated as a “terrorist” entity.

Shawan Javelin, general director of the human rights group Al-Haq, denied terrorism charges and called the shutdown an “arbitrary decision”, while Israeli security forces used “mafia methods” in a years-long campaign of harassment. ‘ was used.

“They used every means, I can tell you. They used financial means. They used smear campaigns. They used threats,” he said on Aug. 18. said his office was sealed with a metal door.

When asked about the details of the threats mentioned to the panel, Javelin said Reuters Two days after the raid, after hearing that he received a call from “Shabak” or someone he identified as being from the Israeli Security Agency. They threatened him with detention, interrogation or “other means” if he continued to work, he added.

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A spokesman for the Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment on specific testimony.A spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment.

“This (COI) and these bogus trial calls shame and undermine the Human Rights Council,” it said in an earlier statement, adding that the commission had an “anti-Israel” agenda.

The United Nations Office for Human Rights previously dismissed allegations of bias and said Israel was not cooperating with the commission’s work.

The first set of hearings will then turn to the murder of a Palestinian-American journalist. shireen abu akleyMay.

The United Nations Office for Rights says its findings suggest she was killed by Israeli forces, but an Israeli investigation suggests she may have been unintentionally shot by Israeli soldiers. concluded to be high.

Neither the public hearings nor the UN Human Rights Council have legal authority. However, investigations initiated by the Council may be used as evidence in national or international courts.

Israel’s ally, the United States, has criticized what the United Nations Human Rights Council describes as “chronic prejudice” against Israel. In 2018, he withdrew from the group, and finally made a full comeback this year.

The three COIs were created after 11 days of conflict in May 2021, during which 250 Gaza Palestinians and 13 Israelis died. The investigation order includes allegations of human rights abuses before and after it and seeks to investigate the root cause of the tension.

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