Israel Condemns U.N. Acceptance Of Palestinian Return Center

Israel has condemned a United Nations decision to grant recognition to the Hamas-linked Palestinian Return Center.

The U.N. approved accreditation Monday for the London-based PRC, which Israel alleges is affiliated with Hamas and “openly promotes terrorism.”

The center, which describes itself as an independent consultancy working on behalf of Palestinian refugees, has denied the Israeli allegations. It announced last Friday that it was starting legal action against Israel’s U.N. Mission for alleged defamation.

Last month, the U.N. committee that accredits non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, recommended that the center’s application be approved. But Israel circulated a resolution, co-sponsored by the United States, Australia and Canada, to the committee’s parent body, the 54-member Economic and Social Council known as ECOSOC, opposing the application for consultative status.

In Monday’s vote, 13 countries supported Israel’s resolution, 16 were opposed, and 18 abstained, which meant the resolution was defeated and the application was approved.

Israel’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador David Roet said before the vote that the center “is not what it claims to be.”

Roet said world media sources, intelligence agencies and independent researchers have cited numerous links between the center and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. He called the center “an essential part of the Hamas network in Europe” that recruits, radicalizes and encourages operatives to take up arms against Israel.

U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Michele Sisson said the United States has “serious concerns” about its background and activities that haven’t been answered.

This article appeared in print on page 25 of the July 22nd, 2015 edition of Hamodia.