Israel has waged a relentless war against protesters and critics through a combination of Governmental and Non-Governmental methods. This is an attempt to log the ways that Israel has used State agencies like the army, navy, intelligence services, diplomatic missions, policing and legal systems of other governments and on their soil to suppress and criminalise it’s critics.

In parallel, a network of Pro-Israel supporters, organised around hasbara’s, attack and harass protesters. See link: “They Knew Where I Lived!” Attacks on Pro-Palestine activists.

There are strong indications that Pro-Palestine activists are being tracked, monitored, logged and targeted using the wider international machinery to combat terrorism. It is in order to get a more complete picture of the range of tools of suppression/criminalisation of legal and legitimate dissent that this documentation is being collated. Hopefully this will also head off any attempts to use anti-terror law, procedures, processes and frameworks to inhibit legitimate campaigning for Palestine or any other issue.

If you know of any other cases that should be added please email them to wakeupact@riseup.net

Legal Attack on NGO’s working in Palestine

NGO Monitor
The Freedom of Information laws which were fought for and won to ensure that the public had adequate over site of power in government to ensure that corrupt and anti-democratic practices did not ensure is being abused to hound NGO’s that work with Palestinians.

Haaretz, an Israeli Newspaper reported, “NGO Monitor, The right-wing group, which tracks the activity of left-wing organizations in Israel, has been trying to obtain the documents [of EU Projects] for 10 years. Particularly two EU programs to promote peace in the Middle East and human rights in general”. After four years of legal battles the EU Court rejected the request, saying that the “information may be used to harm the NGOs”.

Among the NGO’s that NGO Monitor accuses of having an anti-Israel bias are Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. All organisations are already transparent in their finances, publishing breakdowns on the project websites.

It seems that NGO Monitor is trying to shut down support for Palestinians provided by Non Governmental Organisations.

Use of Covert Operations in the EU

The Diplomatic Mission is an organ of communication between two separate nations. It’s use for Spying is illegal in International Law, the question remains is the UK allowing Israel to spy on its citizens? What other intervention by Israel is officially accepted? What long term impact or over-site is there of the information gathered on citizens exercising their legal rights.

Israeli Diplomat attends a Boycott Demonstration. A protester recognised an Israeli Diplomat at a Boycott demonstration organised by Manchester Palestine Action. The same diplomat had earlier been refused a speaking platform at Edinburgh University, and seemed to be trying to covertly gather information about the protest. Is the surveillance of legal protests by foreign governments shunned or sanctioned by states.

USA International Covert data collection Given to Israel

James Bamford of the New York times interviewed Edward Snowden, and found that the USA was handing data from it’s NSA databases to Israel without redaction. The NSA databases hold data of American Citizens mainly, however they also hold data of people who have been in contact with American citizens under surveillance, and/or their contacts, and or their contact’s contacts. The USA has even less of an obligation to protect foreign citizens then it’s own. There is still no information on what is done with that data, once it is obtained. For instance, is it passed onto Hasbara’s? or even worse, could it be passed on to other countries? It may be some time before we understand the full scale of betrayal of trust that has occurred.

The data included detail of personal lives of people unconnected to terrorism, and those who were thought to be inciting public opinion were singled out for intrusive surveillance, including about their health and sex lives. Although Snowden specifically mentions Arab American and Palestinian Americans, it is not a great leap of faith to assume that this also means Pro-Palestine activists.

Israel was asked to comply with US law, however it was also mentioned that this was not a binding legal agreement. extracts of the New York Times article below.

“…the N.S.A. was routinely passing along the private communications of Americans to a large and very secretive Israeli military organization known as Unit 8200. This transfer of intercepts, he said, included the contents of the communications as well as metadata such as who was calling whom ,

The memorandum of agreement between the N.S.A. and its Israeli counterpart covers virtually all forms of communication, including but not limited to “unevaluated and unminimized transcripts, gists, facsimiles, telex, voice and Digital Network Intelligence metadata and content.” The memo also indicates that the N.S.A. does not filter out American communications before delivery to Israel; indeed, the agency “routinely sends” unminimized data.

Although the memo emphasizes that Israel should make use of the intercepts in accordance with United States law, it also notes that the agreement is legally unenforceable…”

“…The document, from Gen. Keith B. Alexander, then the director of the N.S.A., notes that the agency had been compiling records of visits to pornographic websites and proposes using that information to damage the reputations of people whom the agency considers “radicalizers” — not necessarily terrorists, but those attempting, through the use of incendiary speech, to radicalize others. (The Huffington Post has published a redacted version of the document.)”

“In Moscow, Mr. Snowden told me that the document reminded him of the F.B.I.’s overreach during the days of J. Edgar Hoover, when the bureau abused its powers to monitor and harass political activists. “It’s much like how the F.B.I. tried to use Martin Luther King’s infidelity to talk him into killing himself,” he said. “We said those kinds of things were inappropriate back in the ’60s. Why are we doing that now? Why are we getting involved in this again?”

Israeli Navy attacks Activists

A raid and attack on a Protest by Sea, Ships carrying human rights advocates and aid to Gaza was carried out by the Israeli Navy; killing nine of the protesters. Israel’s acts were found to be legal although they were criticized for using disproportionate violence. Laws to protect democratic rights in international waters need to be established.

31 May 2010, An aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip on was attacked by the Israeli Defence Forces. Nine activists were killed and dozens wounded, Israeli troops boarded the lead ship as it attempted to breach the naval blockade of the Palestinian territory.

An international enquiry determined that Israel’s acts were legal. They could not explain why the activists had multiple bullet wounds including four bullets to the head of one activist and another who was shot in the back. Israeli claimed they were attacked by knives and clubs.

The ships were carrying 10,000 tonnes of goods, including school supplies, building materials and two large electricity generators. The activists also said they wanted to make the point that, in their view, the blockade was illegal under international law. Another Flotilla is planned.

The Burning of Gaza’s Ark

In Mid July 2014, At about 2.00 am local time, during the Israeli bombardment, there was a direct hit to Gaza’s Ark. The sustained Israeli assault prevented the civil defence fire brigade from extinguishing the ensuing blaze until approximately 3:30 am. The boat was completely destroyed.

This was the second attack on Gaza’s ark, the first was an explosion earlier that year through sabotage. Gaza’s ark had just undergone repairs.