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OHCHR Condemns Israel's ‘Terrorism’ Designation of Palestinian Civil Society

Addameer offices in Ramallah (Reuters)
Addameer offices in Ramallah (Reuters)
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OHCHR Condemns Israel's ‘Terrorism’ Designation of Palestinian Civil Society

Addameer offices in Ramallah (Reuters)
Addameer offices in Ramallah (Reuters)

Israel's decision to designate six Palestinian civil society organizations as "terrorist" is an attack on human rights defenders and should be immediately revoked, the UN High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) has announced.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Tuesday that the organizations, which include some of the critical partners of the UN Human Rights Office, face far-reaching consequences as a result of this arbitrary decision, as do the people who fund them and work with them.

"The crucial work they perform for thousands of Palestinians risks being halted or severely restricted."

Bachelet stressed that claiming rights before a "UN or other international body is not an act of terrorism, advocating for the rights of women in the occupied Palestinian territory is not terrorism, and providing legal aid to detained Palestinians is not terrorism."

She explained that the published designation decisions by the Israeli Minister of Defense state that the organizations are, or have become, the "arm" of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and that they obtained financial resources, which in practice reached the "[PFLP] terror activity" or supported their activities.

"There is no evidence presented to support these accusations, no information on the type of alleged "PFLP terror activity," nor has any public process been conducted to establish the allegations."

Meanwhile, Israel is sending an envoy to Washington to exchange intelligence information linking the six groups of Palestinian civil society to the PFLP.

The US administration claimed Israel did not notify it of the designation. Washington, Tel Aviv's most important ally, said it would engage with its Israeli partners for more information regarding the basis for these designations.

An Israeli senior security official told AFP that special envoys from the Shin Bet and Foreign Ministry would visit the US to present evidence linking the groups in question to the PFLP.

Among the groups designated "terrorist" are al-Haq, Defense of Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), Addameer, the Bisan Center, the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees.

Furthermore, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Lynn Hastings, said she was concerned by the recent designations under the 2016 Anti-Terrorism Law and relevant allegations.

She warned that these designations add to increasing pressures on civil society organizations across the Palestinian Territories more broadly and have the potential to seriously undermine their humanitarian, development, and human rights work.

"In addressing this issue, I am engaging with the Israeli authorities to learn more about the allegations."

On Monday, UN experts called on the Jewish state to reverse its decision, describing it as a "direct attack on the Palestinian human rights movement."

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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria on Monday for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.

"My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness," Salam said in a statement on X.

At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.

The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.

During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.

The border area, especially near Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Syria’s Qusayr region, has long been a corridor for illicit trade, arms trafficking, and the movement of fighters — including Hezbollah fighters who backed the Assad government during Syria’s 14-year civil war.

Hezbollah has been significantly weakened in its recent war with Israel and since Assad's ousting, it lost several key smuggling routes it once relied on for weapons transfers.

Lebanon also pressed Syria to provide clarity on the fate of thousands of Lebanese nationals who were forcibly disappeared or imprisoned in Syrian jails in the 1980s and 1990s, during Syria’s nearly 30-year military presence in Lebanon. Human rights groups have long documented the lack of accountability and transparency regarding these cases, with families of the missing holding regular demonstrations in Beirut demanding answers.

Syrian officials for their part raised the issue of Syrian nationals detained in Lebanese prisons, Salam said. Many of the detainees were arrested for illegal entry or alleged involvement in militant activity. Rights advocates in both countries have criticized the lack of due process in many of these cases and the poor conditions inside detention facilities.

Lebanon pledged to hand over people implicated in crimes committed by the Assad government and security forces, many of whom are believed to have fled to Lebanon after the government’s collapse, if found on Lebanese soil, a ministerial source told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly comment.

In return, Lebanese officials requested the extradition of Syrians wanted in Lebanese courts for high-profile political assassinations, "most notably those involved in the bombing of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques, those convicted of assassinating President Bashir Gemayel, and other crimes for which the Assad regime is accused," Salam said.

For decades, Lebanon witnessed a long series of politically motivated assassinations targeting journalists, politicians and security officials, particularly those opposed to Syrian influence. The 2013 twin bombings of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon killed more than 40 people and intensified sectarian tensions already heightened by the spillover from the Syrian war.

Syria has never officially acknowledged involvement in any of Lebanon’s political assassinations.

Salam said he also pushed for renewed cooperation on the return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanese government officials estimate the country hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 755,000 are officially registered with the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, making it the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

While Lebanese authorities have long urged the international community to support large-scale repatriation efforts, human rights organizations have cautioned against forced returns, citing ongoing security concerns and a lack of guarantees in Syria.

Since the fall of Assad in December, an estimated 400,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries, according to UNHCR, with about half of them coming from Lebanon, but many are hesitant to return because of the dire economic situation and fears of continuing instability in Syria.