After US Criticism, Israel Says America Knew About Outlawing Palestinian Civil Groups
NDTV
An official in the Israeli defence ministry said officials in the US administration were updated ahead of time about the decision to designate six Palestinian civil society groups as "terrorist organisations".
Israel said Saturday the United States had been informed in advance on its decision to designate six Palestinian civil society groups as "terrorist organisations", after criticism from the State Department.
The Israeli defence ministry had on Friday made public its move to effectively outlaw the six prominent Palestinian civil society groups over alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a group blacklisted by several Western governments.
The decision was swiftly condemned by the Palestinian Authority and international human rights groups, with the US saying it would be "engaging our Israeli partners for more information" regarding the basis for these designations.
"The Israeli government did not give us advance warning" that the groups would be designated, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday.
