Concern is high in Israel among human rights and civil society organizations as the far-right Israeli government embarks on yet another step to silence them. A draft bill proposed by the right-wing government in Israel, which will be introduced tomorrow, Sunday, seeks to silence Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations that have been vocal in exposing the crimes of the occupation and advocating for Palestinian rights. The bill calls for imposing a 65% tax on any foreign or local donation to organizations involved in activities deemed to ‘interfere in the internal affairs of the State of Israel,’ which include appeals to courts against government decisions, work heavily done by Israeli organizations such as B’Tselem, Yesh Din, and Adalah, among others, and whose budget comes from foreign donations. The proposed bill has already received criticism from Israel’s closest allies, such as the United States, France, and Germany. United Nations Special Rapporteur in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, said this bill, if accepted, will hamper the work of human rights organizations. ‘Israel has no legal authority to prevent offers of assistance to Palestinians in the occupied territory, which this bill will do. A 65% tax on foreign aid to Israeli and Palestinian human rights and humanitarian groups will hamper human rights work and relief and infringe on self-determination,’ she said in a tweet.
Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA