NGO Monitor Analysis (Vol. 1 No. 9) 24 June 2003

"Human Rights" Organizations Join in Distorting Israeli Policy - A Critical Analysis

Introduction

In their mission statements the above organizations claim to pursue an impartial and uncompromised commitment to universal human rights and apolitical principles, independent of any political ideology or economic interest. On its website, Amnesty International explicitly states it "does not support or oppose any government or political system.... it is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights." The ICJ talks of the "impartial, objective and authoritative legal approach to the protection and promotion of human rights (see http://www.jcpa.org/ngo/ngo-6-ICJ.html)." The OMCT claims to represent some 240 anti-torture NGOs and exists to campaign "for the end of torture" while FIDH simply styles itself "human rights defenders." The EMHRN talks of the need to "develop a constructive dialogue with governments" in its pursuit of guaranteeing human rights for all (see http://www.jcpa.org/ngo/ngo-9-EMHRN.html). HRW pledged in its Annual Report 2002 that it would try to uphold objectivity and condemn human rights abuses on both sides. By adding their name to this one-sided political statement, HRW and the other groups have clearly violated their own guidelines.

Four Major Omissions

Four major omissions in this statement are analyzed below:

1. The moral dilemmas Israeli forces face in distinguishing between genuine aid workers and devious provocateurs and even terrorists are ignored. Israel has never had a policy of restricting the access of bona fide aid workers to the Gaza Strip. The situation changed in April 2003 when two British Muslims, with impeccable English accents, traveled to Gaza on British passports. To provide cover, they met with members of the Palestinian-run NGO, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). It is presumed that elsewhere in Gaza they received their deadly explosives with which one of them managed to blow himself up along with three civilians, injuring 50 more, in a midnight suicide attack in a popular Tel Aviv jazz bar. Had the second terrorist's charge also detonated and had a security not stopped the first terrorist at the entrance, the death toll would have been far greater. This is one of dozens of suicide bombings, but the first committed by foreign nationals. Following this incident, the Israeli authorities determined that future terrorists would not be allowed to exploit humanitarian NGOs as cover organizations just as they exploit the innocent among Gaza's civilians. Yet none of this is mentioned in the statement of the human rights organization condemning Israeli policy.

2. One has to make a distinction between humanitarian workers such as nurses and doctors and the type of "peace activist" who takes part in demonstrations in front of tanks and in the line of fire. ISM openly encourages its foreign national activists to prevent soldiers from carrying out their missions. Moreover, ISM "How to" manuals explain that their foreign national activists should not reveal their identity at the border. ISM is aware that other countries with war zones restrict access, including US forces in the recent war in Iraq. Such action is deemed legal elsewhere in the world, as in Israel.

3. The statement strongly condemns the Israeli authorities for requesting that "humanitarian workers" (often provocative peace activists) entering Gaza sign a waiver form. The implication is Israel is deliberately targeting aid workers. The decision follows declarations by NGOs holding Israel entirely liable for the deaths of foreign nationals, regardless of the circumstances. Israel is conducting a complex anti-terror campaign in which foreign nationals sometimes choose to involve themselves. For example, Rachel Corrie's tragic accidental death, March 16, 2003, according to the IDF report, occurred because she was blocked from vision as she stood behind a dirt mound between her and a bulldozer leveling the area in which houses were demolished some time before. A detailed Israeli investigation determined that her death was accidental and that she put her own life in danger by standing in front of the bulldozer. Making foreign humanitarian workers aware of the risks they face is the only reason why this waiver was instituted.

4. There is a long list of demands made on the Israeli government but silence regarding Palestinian obligations. Apart from the Mike's Place bombing, there were scores of other atrocities that led to the charged situation in the Gaza Strip. Israel is facing a double hazard. On the one hand, there is the threat of suicide bombers entering its cities under the cover of aid workers. On the other hand, there is the threat of provocateurs interfering with its soldiers, putting themselves and soldiers at risk.

Responsibility of Humanitarian NGOs

Conclusion

As frequently stated in NGO Monitor, such organizations have a responsibility to adhere to their stated principles. By painting a one-sided picture with convenient omissions of basic facts, NGOs betray their own stated objectives and values. The statement would have had far greater impact in improving the position of aid workers and the cause of human rights if it produced a clear call for all aid organizations and workers to distance themselves, unequivocally, from any terrorist group or individuals and produce clear condemnations of all forms of terrorism. Such a campaign would attack the root causes of the conflict and contribute to lessening the injustices both sides suffer. It would be tragic if such unbalanced and one-sided statements by humanitarian NGOs help perpetuate the exploitation of the civilians of the West Bank and Gaza by Palestinian extremists.