AID and human rights organisations have accused Israel of waging an “aggressive campaign” to silence groups critical of the occupation of Palestine through spreading smears and false information. 

The Israeli government released The Money Trail report last week accusing more than a dozen European Union (EU) funded groups of promoting “boycotts against Israel” and having links to terrorism.

Tel Aviv demanded that the EU cut funding to a range of aid and human rights groups supporting Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

However, two of the groups cited in the report have hit back at the “false claims.”

The Norwegian People’s Aid organisation said it was clear that Tel Aviv is engaged in “an aggressive and co-ordinated campaign against organisations critical of the occupation.”

It said the “false accusations … demonstrate the ever more challenging environment for those working with fundamental human rights and international law.”

The aid organisation denied claims it supports a boycott of Israel and said it works within the framework of international law.

However, it said it was concerned that those who support a boycott are criminalised and refused access to the Occupied Territories.

“This is a violation of the fundamental rights of free speech and association,” it said in a statement.

EuroMed Rights — another of the organisations named in the report — accused Israel of “inaccuracies, misinformation and defamatory accusations against NGOs” which “reflects the government’s increasing efforts to silence peaceful criticism of its human rights record.”

Its president Michel Tubiana denied EuroMed Rights was funding Palestinian groups as it is “not a donor agency, although [it] works alongside the ‘internationally respected’ Al Haq, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al Mezan organisations.”

He scotched claims the rights group was “working systematically in trying to suspend the association agreement between Israel and the EU” as false and said the Israeli report should be seen in the context of mounting harassment and smear campaigns against rights groups working with Palestinians.

”This report is yet another attempt by the government of Israel to silence peaceful dissent against the occupation and to exclude human rights organisations from European funding and political fora.

“To avoid such misinformation further spreading across European countries, we call on the EU to clearly and publicly debunk this incendiary propaganda against European partners in Israel/Palestine,” Mr Tubiana blasted.