The international platform "iBalsteen" in support of Palestine announced the closure of its doors and the withdrawal of its credentials in the British capital, London, due to Israeli prosecutions and accusations of working for the benefit of a Palestinian faction on the lists of "terrorism".
Nour Naim, director of the platform for civil society organizations working for Palestine, said in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency on Tuesday, that the doors of the platform were closed on Monday, and it came after it was subjected to great Israeli pressure, which eventually led to its closure.
She added that the Israeli harassment of the platform and its employees began about 6 months ago, when an attempt was made to list it as an "organization affiliated with a terrorist act, or for a specific faction."
She pointed out that she "went at the time to refute the Israeli narrative that aimed to undermine the platform's work with legal procedures."
However, Israel re-directed these accusations in early September, with greater pressure.
And she continued, "This time, due to the strong pressure and classifications - that it was issued by the Israeli Defense Minister," Benny Gantz "- it led to the closure.
On the second of September, Gantz signed 4 orders to confiscate funds and property belonging to institutions and people, some of whom reside outside the Palestinian territories, and Israel accuses them of working for the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas".
Naeem denied the platform's association with any "Palestinian faction" or working for it, and considered that these accusations fall within the framework of "Israeli efforts to undermine any action that supports the cause and works to strengthen civil society."
According to Naim, this decision affected a number of former employees of the platform, as they were pursued and tried to restrict them and confiscate their money.
"The decision is touched by working and non-working figures in the institution, as the occupation is treated as if it is above the law, and its decisions are executed without relying on the law," she added, without further explanation.
She added that the management of the platform decided to close it under Israeli pressure, in order to protect its partners from being affected by these prosecutions, as "Israel pursues organizations that deal with their outlawed counterparts."
"In the interest of the interests of our partners and those working with us, we decided to regret closing the door, and this is considered Israeli terrorism. Just as a citizen in the West Bank is forced to demolish his house with his own hands, we are forced under pressure to close this platform."
According to Naim, I Palstein, which was established at the end of 2017 in London, works to link Palestinian civil society institutions operating in "Gaza, the West Bank and Israel" with institutions operating abroad and international, and to open a window to the international community for them.
She continued, "We started as a network, within which we gathered a number of activists, and the Board of Trustees was composed of well-balanced personalities who had a reputation in Palestinian work, and they were from various countries."
She indicated that the platform's work focused on networking "with international platforms and networks to support Palestinian civil society organizations in all their places of existence."
She pointed out that the platform had previously issued "the first guide that gathered 4,500 civil society organizations working in 9 sectors, and provided their members with the opportunity to network with each other, as well as partnering with large international institutions such as the European Union."
In addition, Naim said that the platform "also contributed to addressing the institutions of the international community regarding the Israeli violations that NGOs are subjected to in the occupied territories."