- Palestinian human rights organization accused Isreal of using ‘mafia methods.’
- The first round of hearings will then focus on the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
- It left the body in 2018 and just rejoined this year.
A Palestinian human rights organization told a United Nations panel on Monday that it had been subjected to threats and “mafia methods” during a campaign of intimidation organized by Israel to silence NGOs recording alleged Israeli rights breaches.
Israel rejected the panel’s process as a fraud and refused to comment on the specific claims.
The independent Commission of Inquiry, which was established by the Human Rights Council, the leading U.N. human rights body, last year, is scheduled to hold impartial hearings over the course of five days, examining both Israeli and Palestinian charges.
In its opening session, the commission heard from representatives of Palestinian organizations that Israel shut down in August and labeled “terrorist.”
Shawan Jabarin, general director of the human rights organization Al-Haq, rejected the terrorism allegation and branded the closure an “arbitrary decision,” claiming that Israeli security services had employed “mafia tactics” against the organization in a multi-year campaign of harassment.
“They used all means, I can say. They used financial means; they used a smear campaign; they used threats,” he said, saying his office was sealed with a metal door on Aug. 18.
[embedpost slug = “/what-would-a-uk-embassy-move-to-jerusalem-mean-for-palestine/”]
Jabarin said after the hearing that he received a phone call from someone he described as being from “Shabak,” or the Israel Security Agency, two days after the raid when he was asked to elaborate on the threats stated to the panel. He stated that he was threatened with incarceration, interrogation, or “other measures” if he continued his job.
The diplomatic office of Israel in Geneva declined to comment on the specific testimony. A representative for the Israeli foreign ministry declined to comment.
“This (COI) and the convening of these sham trials shame and undermine the Human Rights Council,” it said in an earlier statement, saying the commission had an “anti-Israel” agenda.
Previously, a U.N. human rights official refuted claims of bias and stated that Israel had not cooperated with the commission’s work.
The first round of hearings will then focus on the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May.
According to the U.N. office for human rights, its findings indicate that she was killed by Israeli troops, although an Israeli investigation concluded that she was likely shot accidentally by an Israeli soldier.
Hearings and the United Nations Human Rights Council have no legal authority. However, council investigations are occasionally utilized as evidence in national or international tribunals.
The United States, an ally of Israel, has criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council for its “chronic bias” towards Israel. It left the body over this issue in 2018 and just rejoined in its entirety this year.
After the 11-day battle in May 2021, during which 250 Gaza Palestinians and 13 Israelis perished, the three-member COI was established. The inquiry mandate encompasses alleged human rights violations before and after the conflict and tries to probe the tensions’ core causes.
[embedpost slug = “/netanyahus-victory-boosts-far-right-in-israel/”]
