London, United Kingdom – British charities, Palestinian advocacy organisations and the proscribed Palestine Action group have condemned an official Israeli letter maligning their representatives and activists and recommending they be barred from entering Israel. The document, seen by Al Jazeera, was issued by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. It recommends border authorities bar employees and activists associated with aid organisations including Oxfam, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Save the Children, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Norwegian Refugee Council, which receives UK funding, as well as campaign groups including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Friends of Al-Aqsa.
The letter, dated September 8, the day the UK banned imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, was previously reported by the BBC and Jerusalem Post. Ismail Patel, founder of Friends of Al-Aqsa, which openly advocates for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, is accused in the letter of joining anti-Israel demonstrations in London and making “harsh statements against Israel” in public appearances and interviews. Israel had warned the UK against the new sanctions, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs raising the prospect of “consequences” for what it called “hostile moves”.
Shortly after the trade ban was announced, Israel, which controls access to Gaza and the occupied West Bank, barred 11 British MPs and a lawyer from entering and ordered the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem. It also announced the removal of British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center located in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel. And it has ended British training of Palestinian Authority forces in the occupied West Bank.
It makes further accusations against 11 groups in total. The claims against them range from advocating for engagement with Hamas for humanitarian access; demanding an arms embargo against Israel; having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood or working with “terrorist” organisations. Save the Children is accused of describing Israel’s actions as “deliberate starvation” and “genocide”.
A spokesperson told Al Jazeera that, alongside other NGOs, it is already unable to secure visas for staff needing to cross Israeli-controlled borders into Gaza or the West Bank, “at a time when needs have never been greater”. Israel has intensified restrictions on international aid groups since the genocidal war in Gaza began, including measures affecting the entry of food, medicine, foreign volunteer doctors and humanitarian workers. MAP said the letter forms part of Israeli authorities’ “wider restrictions on international charities operating in the occupied Palestinian territory”.
It noted that two MAP individuals named in the letter had received the humanitarian medals awarded by King Charles. The letter describes Palestine Action, which has carried out raids against Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, as a “network of radical branches promoting direct action intended to damage the Israeli defence industry”. The lobby group alleged, in line with Israeli accusations, that MSF had employed people with links to Palestinian armed groups.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
