Title: Condemning the repressive designation by the Government of Israel of six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society groups as terrorist organizations, and for other purposes.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the value and importance of the work being done by the six Palestinian civil society organizations defending the human rights of a vulnerable and at-risk Palestinian population living under Israeli military occupation.
The resolution also condemns as a repressive act designed to criminalize and persecute important Palestinian human rights organizations the decision by the Israeli government to designate six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society groups as terrorist organizations.
Finally, the resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that President Biden and the Department of State should publicly

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 751 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 751

 Condemning the repressive designation by the Government of Israel of 
  six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society groups as 
            terrorist organizations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 28, 2021

  Ms. McCollum (for herself, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Carson, Ms. 
 Omar, Ms. Newman, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Bush, and Mr. 
   Garcia of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning the repressive designation by the Government of Israel of 
  six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society groups as 
            terrorist organizations, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Government of Israel designated six prominent Palestinian human 
        rights and civil society groups as ``terrorist organizations'' on 
        October 19, 2021, a designation that effectively criminalizes the 
        activities of legitimate civil society groups and authorizes Israeli 
        authorities to close their offices, seize their assets, and arrest and 
        jail their staff members;
Whereas the six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society 
        organizations are Addameer, Al-Haq, Defense for Children International-
        Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, the Bisan Center 
        for Research and Development, and the Union of Palestinian Women 
        Committees, which work directly with Palestinian women and girls, 
        children, small holder farmers, prisoners, and civil society activists, 
        providing direct services and monitoring and exposing human rights 
        abuses, including ongoing expansion of settlements in violation of 
        international law;
Whereas Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, in a joint statement, 
        called the move ``appalling and unjust'' and ``an alarming escalation 
        that threatens to shut down the work of Palestine's most prominent civil 
        society organizations'';
Whereas 21 of the leading Israeli human rights groups issued a joint statement 
        calling this a ``draconian measure that criminalizes critical human 
        rights work'';
Whereas United Nations human rights experts unequivocally condemned the decision 
        declaring that the ``designation is a frontal attack on the Palestinian 
        human rights movement, and on human rights everywhere'' and ``not what a 
        democracy adhering to well-accepted human rights and humanitarian 
        standards would do'';
Whereas the Israeli newspaper Haaretz called the decision ``A stain upon 
        Israel'' and said, ``The outlawing of human rights groups and 
        persecution of humanitarian activists are quintessential characteristics 
        of military regimes, in which democracy in its deepest sense is a dead 
        letter'';
Whereas, over the past several years, Israeli, Palestinian, and international 
        human rights and humanitarian organizations have faced an increasingly 
        difficult operating environment and shrinking civic space in Israel and 
        the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, 
        that negatively impacts their ability to deliver assistance and advocate 
        on behalf of Palestinian human rights;
Whereas delegitimization and disinformation campaigns have been advanced by a 
        network of rising nationalist Israeli civil society organizations and 
        associated organizations outside of Israel, with the support of Israeli 
        government ministries and aim to silence and eliminate lawful human 
        rights work that exposes widespread human rights violations inherent in 
        Israel's military occupation of Palestinians;
Whereas antiterrorism legislation must not be used to unjustifiably undermine 
        civil liberties or to curtail the legitimate work of human rights 
        organizations and must be applied in a manner that is consistent with 
        international law and does not violate obligations under international 
        law; and
Whereas the United States provides $3.8 billion in military funding to the 
        Israeli government each fiscal year and therefore holds a unique 
        obligation to speak out against and condemn actions by the Israeli 
        government that intentionally undermine democratic values and 
        internationally recognized human rights: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) recognizes the value and importance of the 
                courageous work being done by the six Palestinian civil 
                society organizations defending the human rights of a 
                vulnerable and at-risk Palestinian population living 
                under Israeli military occupation; and
                    (B) condemns as a repressive act designed to 
                criminalize and persecute important Palestinian human 
                rights organizations the decision by the Government of 
                Israel to designate six prominent Palestinian human 
                rights and civil society groups as terrorist 
                organizations; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        President Biden and the Secretary of State should--
                    (A) publicly condemn this authoritarian and 
                antidemocratic act of repression by the Government of 
                Israel against prominent Palestinian civil society 
                organizations;
                    (B) publicly call on Israeli authorities to 
                immediately end efforts aimed at persecuting, 
                delegitimizing, and criminalizing Palestinian human 
                rights defenders and civil society organizations; and
                    (C) publicly state the ongoing United States 
                commitment to recognize the valuable work of 
                Palestinian civil society organizations, including 
                Addameer, Al-Haq, Defense for Children International-
                Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, 
                the Bisan Center for Research and Development, and the 
                Union of Palestinian Women Committees, and all other 
                peaceful, legitimate efforts to protect the 
                internationally recognized human rights of Palestinians 
                living under Israeli military occupation.
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