Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gives a press statement at al-Haq Human Rights Organization, which was raided and shut down by Israeli military forces in Ramallah, West Bank, Aug. 18 2022. (Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Nearly a year after Israel announced that it would shutter human rights groups monitoring the country’s treatment of Palestinians, Israel has yet to show sufficient cause for its plans, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.

The comments came as Israeli troops raided seven of the groups’ offices in the West Bank city of Ramallah and welded their doors shut.

“We have conveyed the message that there must be a very high bar to take action against civil society organizations,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Israel has not conveyed information that substantiates its allegations that the groups have ties to and fund terrorist organizations, Price said. “We don’t have that information yet,” he said, adding that the United States had “voiced our concern” about the raids.

The groups — including Addameer, Al-Haq, Bisan Center, Defense for Children International Palestine, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees — deny Israel’s allegations that they have ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated terrorist group.

Price said the information Israel has shared since announcing plans last year to shut down the groups has not persuaded U.S. agencies of the ties.

Regarding “the material that has been provided to us to date from our Israeli partners, what I can say is that we have provided that information to our partners within the U.S. government. There are various departments and agencies who have taken a look at this material,” Price said. “Through the course of our review of this information, we have not changed our position on or approach to these particular organizations.”

Price said Israel has said that more information is forthcoming and that the Biden administration will assess it when it comes in.

Last month, nine European nations said Israel’s claims that the groups had tied to terrorists were unpersuasive.

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount