US Vows to Re-Evaluate its Position on Palestinian Organizations

Offices of the Union of Palestinian Women Committees in Ramallah after the Israeli forces raid (EPA)
Offices of the Union of Palestinian Women Committees in Ramallah after the Israeli forces raid (EPA)
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US Vows to Re-Evaluate its Position on Palestinian Organizations

Offices of the Union of Palestinian Women Committees in Ramallah after the Israeli forces raid (EPA)
Offices of the Union of Palestinian Women Committees in Ramallah after the Israeli forces raid (EPA)

The US administration has agreed to re-examine its position in rejecting Tel Aviv's decision to ban the activities of six Palestinian organizations.

A high-ranking Israeli delegation arrived in the US, seeking Washington's support for Tel Aviv's designation of the Palestinian civil society groups as terrorist organizations.

Political sources revealed that the Israeli government has been angered by the statements of US officials expressing concern over Tel Aviv's decision to close the offices of six Palestinian NGOs in the West Bank.

Consequently, Tel Aviv sent a high-ranking delegation to Washington, including military, Shin Bet, and Public Prosecution officials, to meet with US officials.

The sources said the delegation provided new information about the activities of these associations and clarified their alleged role in supporting terrorism.

The delegation also presented a list of 250 other NGOs in the West Bank that Tel Aviv has no problem with, even though most of them are very critical of Israel.

The delegation requested that the US administration change its position and support Israel in its decision to ban the activities of these associations. According to the Israelis, the US did not respond to their request, but it is currently evaluating the additional information.

Israeli forces have raided the ADDAMEER Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Defense for Children International – Palestine, al-Haq, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees, as well as Bisan Center for Research and Development.

They confiscated computers, documents and files, arrested several activists, and prepared a report claiming they were all operating under the leadership of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The report was addressed to the US administration and the European Union, requesting they stop funding these associations. Following this, European countries examined the Israeli information, concluded there was insufficient evidence to corroborate these accusations, and decided to continue supporting them.

The US expressed its concern and said that it was in contact with the Israeli government to obtain more information about these organizations.



Iraq Will Not Be Just a ‘Spectator’ in Syria, Prime Minister Says

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani delivers a speech during the Spain-Iraq business meeting in Madrid, Spain, 28 November 2024. (EPA)
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani delivers a speech during the Spain-Iraq business meeting in Madrid, Spain, 28 November 2024. (EPA)
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Iraq Will Not Be Just a ‘Spectator’ in Syria, Prime Minister Says

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani delivers a speech during the Spain-Iraq business meeting in Madrid, Spain, 28 November 2024. (EPA)
Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani delivers a speech during the Spain-Iraq business meeting in Madrid, Spain, 28 November 2024. (EPA)

Iraq will not act as a mere spectator in Syria where it believes groups and sects are victims of ethnic cleansing, Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday, according to a readout from his office of a phone call to Türkiye's president.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who discussed the situation in Syria with Türkiye's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Iraq would exert all efforts to preserve the security of Iraq and Syria, according to the official readout of the call.

"What is happening in Syria today is in the interest of the Zionist entity, which deliberately bombed Syrian army sites in a way that paved the way for terrorist groups to control additional areas in Syria," the Iraqi prime minister's office quoted Sudani as saying.

Factions opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seized the city of Aleppo last week in their biggest advance in years. Iraq's Shiite-led government has close relations with Iran, which is an ally of Assad, and Iraqi militia fighters have fought on Assad's side in the war.

Two Iraqi security sources and a senior Syrian military source told Reuters on Monday that hundreds of Iraqi Shiite militia fighters had crossed the border late on Sunday to help Assad's army fight the opposition’s advance.

The head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, which includes the major Shiite militia groups aligned with Iran, said no group under its umbrella had entered Syria.

The Syrian opposition fighters have said their advance over the past week met little resistance, in part because the most powerful of Iran's allies, Lebanon's Hezbollah group, had pulled its forces out of Syria to battle Israel in Lebanon.

Israel, which has long struck what it says are Iran-aligned military targets in Syria, has stepped up such strikes over the past 14 months as it battled Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.