Calling the charge of pro-Palestinian bias “outrageous,” Ms. Bashi pointed to several recent reports criticizing the leadership of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

“If we are engaging in Palestinian propaganda, we are doing a lousy job,” she said. The only other countries that have denied the group such access, she said, are Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

Rights groups have complained that the Israeli government of Mr. Netanyahu has been increasingly hostile, with groups like B’Tselem and Peace Now, which monitor Israeli settlements and the conditions of Palestinians, coming under particular criticism.

Last year, Israel passed a law imposing reporting requirements on groups that receive more than half their funding from foreign governments. Advocacy groups said the legislation amounted to intimidation, while supporters of the move said it was meant to prevent foreign meddling in Israeli affairs.

Also on Friday, the United Nations criticized as too lenient the 18-month prison sentence given on Tuesday to Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter for shooting an immobilized Palestinian attacker in the head in March 2016. The soldier had faced a maximum term of 20 years.

Sergeant Azaria is the only member of the Israeli security forces to have been brought to trial on charges of killing a Palestinian, although more than 200 Palestinians have been killed since a surge of violence began in September 2015, according to the office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.

“While the prosecution and conviction are very welcome steps towards accountability, the punishment — which is excessively lenient — is difficult to reconcile with the intentional killing of an unarmed and prone individual,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the commissioner, said in a statement.

“It also stands in contrast to the sentences handed down by other Israeli courts for other less serious offenses, notably the sentencing of Palestinian children to more than three years’ imprisonment for throwing stones at cars,” she added. “This case risks undermining confidence in the justice system and reinforcing the culture of impunity.”</s>Jerusalem (CNN) Israel has rejected a work permit application for Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine director on the grounds the organization "engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda."

According to Human Rights Watch, a letter dated February 20 from the Israeli Interior Ministry denied a work permit for US citizen Omar Shakir -- a Human Rights Watch employee. The Ministry of Interior said it had taken advice from the Foreign Ministry, and stated that HRW insisted on "falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'".

HRW says the denial is a sign that Israel is seeking to "limit the space for local and international human rights groups to operate in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories."

"This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values," said Iain Levine, Human Rights Watch's deputy executive director, in a statement.

"It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda."

'Hostile, extremist agenda'

Emmanuel Nahshon, Spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision was made "due to the hostile, extremist, and anti-Israel agenda of the organization."

He said HRW has "placed itself at the disposal of Palestinian propaganda, [and] is acting clearly and unequivocally against the State of Israel in a completely biased manner.

"This is the reason we have decided we are no longer willing to turn the other cheek, and we will not grant work visas to an individual and organization with the clear goal of harming Israel and its good name."

Nashon told CNN that representatives of HRW could still enter Israel with tourists' visas.

He added: "Regarding work visas, the issue will be re-examined by the relevant authorities if the original decision will be appealed."

US criticizes decision

The decision was condemned by the US, with Acting State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner rejecting Israel's stance on HRW.

"We are aware of reports that a Human Rights Watch employee was denied a work permit by Israeli authorities on the grounds that HRW is not a 'real' human rights organization," he said.

"I would note that every country sets its own immigration and visa laws. That said, we strongly disagree with that characterization of HRW," he said.

"HRW is a credible human rights organization and even though we do not agree with all of their assertions or conclusions, given the seriousness of their efforts, we support the importance of the work they do."

Foreign NGO debate

The move comes at a time of great debate over the influence of foreign-funded NGOs in Israel.

Last July, the Knesset passed a law forcing human rights groups which receive more than 50% of their funding from foreign governments or bodies such as the European Union to disclose such information.

The law's detractors say that it impacts those advocacy groups which speak out against the right-wing government's policies, particularly on Palestinian issues. Its supporters say it prevents foreign powers from meddling in Israel's domestic affairs.

HRW plans to appeal

HRW, which monitors 90 countries across the world, says it will challenge the decision before an Israeli district court.

The group added that the criticism leveled at it by the Israeli government was unfair and says its wider work in the region shows that.

Last year, it highlighted the detention of journalists and activists by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas as well as reporting on free expression in the West Bank and Gaza where HRW said, at the time, "both Palestinian governments, operating independently, have apparently arrived at similar methods of harassment, intimidation and physical abuse of anyone who dares criticize them."

"The Israeli government is hardly the only one to disagree with our well-researched findings, but efforts to stifle the messenger signal that it has no appetite for serious scrutiny of its human rights record," Levine added.

"We hope the Israeli authorities will reverse this decision and allow both international and domestic human rights groups to work freely."</s>Israel has become one of a small number of countries — including North Korea and Cuba — to deny access to Human Rights Watch, the independent human rights organization.

HRW's Israel and Palestine Country Director Omar Shakir, an American citizen, was denied a visa by the Israeli government on Monday, HRW announced early Friday morning.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited "propaganda" as a reason for its decision, alleging HRW has "engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'..."

Echoing its rejection letter, a foreign ministry spokesperson described the organization as "not a real human rights group", with a "hostile agenda," Al Jazeera reports.

"This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values," Iain Levine, HRW deputy executive program director, said in its press release. "It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda."

Other HRW staff members, such as executive director Kenneth Roth and senior legal advisor Clive Baldwin, expressed their disapproval via Twitter.

"Israeli government says the only purpose of HRW is to 'besmirch' Israel," Baldwin wrote early Friday morning. "Our purpose is to expose human rights abuses."

The group, which shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its work to ban landmines, said it was surprised by the application rejection as it frequently communicates and meets with the foreign ministry, the Israeli military and police, along with other government officials. And, in 2016, the government requested HRW assist a case in which victims of human rights abuses were Israelis.

Shakir's visa rejection is a departure from the last thirty years, during which time the organization has had " access without impediments" to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories, with the exception of Gaza since 2010.

HRW intends on challenging the decision, which came more than seven months after the application was filed, despite interior ministry regulations stipulating an applicant should receive a decision within 60 days.

"We have little relations with governments in North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Cuba and Venezuela where there is zero appetite for human rights engagement," said , a Stanford law graduate with a masters degree from Georgetown University, according to the Guardian. "With this decision, Israel is joining the list."</s>Israel has refused to issue visas to staff from Human Rights Watch (HRW), one of the world's most renowned human rights NGOs, accusing the group of having an "extreme, hostile and anti-Israel agenda" - a move the organization has described as "ominous," and a sign the state "has no appetite" for serious scrutiny of its human rights record.The policy was revealed when authorities turned down a visa for HRW's new Israel and Palestine director Omar Shakir, a US citizen, at the request of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a letter , rejecting Shakir's application, Israel accused HRW of being "engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of 'human rights.' "Confirming the decision, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said HRW was "not a real human rights group," and had demonstrated "time and again it is a fundamentally biased and anti-Israeli organization with a clear hostile agenda."Nahshon said the group was not banned and its Israeli and Palestinian employees were still permitted to work in Israel, but questioned why Israel "should give working visas to people whose only purpose" was to "besmirch and attack" the country. Furthermore, he suggested other organizations such as Amnesty International could also be subject to visa denials, and applications from similar organizations would be assessed on a case by case basis. In a statement , HRW countered that its work in Israel had also included numerous reports of human rights abuses in Palestine, such as the detention of journalists by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, an extrajudicial execution carried out by Hamas' military wing, and executions by Hamas in Gaza "This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values. It is disappointing the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda," said Iain Levine, HRW Deputy Executive Director for Program.While the decision was deemed "ominous" by HRW, the organization has had its ability to investigate human rights abuses in the West Bank sharply truncated ever since 2010, with Israel refusing HRW staff access to the area without impediments — save for a single visit in 2016.Moreover, it comes at a time when Israel is increasingly cracking down on human rights groups' operations in the country; a law passed by the Knesset in July 2016 targets human right groups, imposing onerous reporting requirements that burden their activities. While the law's wording does not specifically refer to any organization, pro-Israel NGOs are not impacted by its requirements.In August, five US activists aiming to investigate living conditions for Palestinians in Israeli-occupied areas were arrested, detained and then deported, as well as being banned from ever returning.In December, Israel detained African theologian Isabel Phiri over claims the organization for which she works, World Council of Churches, supported sanctions against Israel.Palestinian rights defenders have also received anonymous death threats , been subject to travel restrictions and even arrested and charged on questionable grounds On Twitter, Shakir noted that while Israel was far from unique in contesting HRW's findings, it was almost alone in blocking the organization from entering the country — only states such as North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela "where there is zero appetite for human rights engagement" had done the same to date.</s>Israel has denied a visa to an investigator from Human Rights Watch (HRW), accusing the group of engaging “in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda”.

Human rights groups expressed shock at the decision and said it was the latest in a series of steps taken by the Israeli government against NGOs which criticise its record on human rights.

Israel said the decision was not a blanket ban on HRW and insisted it had no broader plan to crack down on international human rights groups.

HRW applied for an Israeli work visa in July for Omar Shakir, an Iraqi-born investigator who would be based in the area and cover both Israel and the Palestinian territories.</s>Israel has denied a senior director from Human Rights Watch (HRW) a work permit, accusing the watchdog of promoting "Palestinian propaganda" and adopting an "anti-Israel agenda."

US citizen Omar Shakir, HRW Israel-Palestine director, has been refused entry to the country over criticism that the human rights organisation is biased towards Palestine.

His application for a work permit was rejected on 20 February, months after it was submitted. In a letter from the Israeli interior ministry, Shakir was told: "For some time now this organisation's public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'. Therefore your client's application to employ Mr Omar Shakir has been denied."

Human Rights Watch, which operates in 90 countries, expressed shock at the decision. The denial comes as – according to the organisation – the Israeli government seeks to limit the space for human rights organisations to operate in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

"This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values," HRW deputy executive director Iain Levine said.

"It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda," he commented.

Shakir said he was "genuinely shocked" by the decision. "We work in over 90 countries across the world. Many governments don't like our well-researched findings but their response is not to stifle the messenger," he said.

Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry, denied that the group was banned and said Israeli and Palestinian employees would still be granted work permits, but questioned why visas should be given "to people whose only purpose is to besmirch us and to attack us?" according to AFP.

"This organization has put itself at the disposal of Palestinian propaganda [and] is acting clearly and unequivocally against the State of Israel, in a totally biased manner," Nahshon told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

This is not the first time the Israeli government has denied an individual a visa. Christian theologian Isabel Phiri was barred from entering Israel in December 2016 for allegedly supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The global BDS campaign claims to be a non-violent protest against Israel's occupation of Palestinian land, but is viewed by the Israeli government as a serious threat.</s>Israeli authorities reject Human Rights Watch request for work permit, accusing it of having a 'pro-Palestinian' agenda.

Israeli has refused to issue a visa for a senior Human Rights Watch staff member, accusing the US-based rights group of pro-Palestinian bias and saying it will no longer grant visas to its staff.

HRW said on Friday that its Israel and Palestine Director Omar Shakir, a US citizen, had received a rejection letter on February 20, months after an application for the permit was submitted by the group on his behalf.

The Israeli foreign ministry said that the organisation was "not a real human rights group", with a foreign ministry spokesman calling it "fundamentally biased" with a "hostile agenda".

New York-based HRW, which operates in 90 countries, said it has documented violations considered illegal under international humanitarian law by all sides in the conflict, including the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli interior ministry cited a recommendation received by the foreign ministry, which said that HRW's "public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'".

In a statement, HRW said the decision came as authorities sought "to limit the space for local and international human rights groups to operate in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories".

Emmanuel Nahshon, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, told the AFP news agency that the group was not banned, and any Israeli and Palestinian employees would still be allowed to operate in Israel, but said: "Why should we give working visas to people whose only purpose is to besmirch us and to attack us?"

Speaking to local media, Nahshon said Israel was "fed up with them [HRW] coming here every time and taking advantage of their stay here. They don't do anything but look for an anti-Israel agenda."

Iain Levine, HRW's deputy executive director of programme, said: "This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel’s commitment to basic democratic values."

"It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda."

In response to the decision to refuse his visa, Shakir said: "We are genuinely shocked. We work in over 90 countries across the world. Many governments don't like our well-researched findings but their response is not to stifle the messenger."

According to Shakir, Israeli authorities said they would also refuse visas to other non-Israeli or Palestininan HRW staff.

Last year, HRW issued a report, "Occupation Inc.", in which it accused foreign and Israeli firms operating in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank of contributing to human rights abuses.

In July 2016, Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed a law targeting human rights groups and NGOs that receive foreign funding. The law, applicable to about 25 organisations, compels them to declare funds in official reports, and according to HRW, imposes "onerous reporting requirements that burden their advocacy".

It is not the first time the organisation has faced criticism and resistance from governments.

"We have little relations with governments in North Korea, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Cuba and Venezuela where there is zero appetite for human rights engagement," Shakir said. "With this decision, Israel is joining the list."</s>Israeli authorities have rejected a request from Human Rights Watch to grant a work permit to its regional director, accusing the group of engaging in Palestinian "propaganda," the group said Friday.

The decision was Israel's latest step against human rights groups and other advocacy organizations that it accuses of bias against the Jewish state.

Israel's Interior Ministry issued its ruling this week, some six months after Human Rights Watch asked for permission for its New York-based Israel and Palestine director, Omar Shakir, to be able to work in the country.

In a letter dated Monday, the ministry said the group's reports "have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of "human rights." The decision, it said, was based on a recommendation from Israel's Foreign Ministry.

Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon called Human Rights Watch a "blatantly hostile anti-Israeli organization whose reports have the sole purpose of harming Israel with no consideration whatsoever for the truth or reality."

He said "there is no reason" to give a visa to a person or organization that wants to hurt the country. "We are not masochists and there is no reason we should keep doing that," he said.

He said the decision was connected solely to the group's activities and had nothing to do with the ethnicity of Shakir, a U.S. citizen of Iraqi descent.

Shakir, a Stanford-educated lawyer, has also done work on human rights in Egypt, Pakistan and at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, according to his biography.

The New York-based group monitors human rights in over 90 countries, including nations throughout the Middle East. It said it has direct access to most of these countries, but said a small number of them, including Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Uzbekistan and Venezuela, have blocked access to its staff.

"The denial letter came as a shock, given that we have had regular access to Israel and the West Bank for nearly three decades and regularly engage Israeli authorities," Shakir said in an email. "Branding us as propagandists and fake human rights advocates puts Israel in the company of heavily repressive states like North Korea, Iran and Sudan that have blocked access for Human Rights Watch staff members."

Nahshon said the group's local staff could continue to operate and publish reports.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. did not agree with Israel's characterization of Human Rights Watch.

"HRW is a credible human rights organization and even though we do not agree with all of their assertions or conclusions, given the seriousness of their efforts, we support the importance of the work they do," Toner said.

Human Rights Watch has published a series of reports that were highly critical of Israel, especially after wars or periods of heightened violence with Palestinian militants. For instance, it accused Israel of committing war crimes during fighting with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014. Israel harshly rejected the findings of that report.

The group has also issued reports critical of the Palestinians. For instance, last year it accused the internationally backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the rival Hamas militant group in Gaza of arbitrarily detaining journalists and activists. It also has criticized executions carried out by Hamas.

But Israel has long accused the group, as well as other human rights groups, of focusing excessively and unfairly on it. The nationalist government last year passed a law that increased regulation on rights groups that receive foreign funding. It also has taken aim at Israeli rights groups that criticize military and government policies overseas. Critics accuse the government of trying to stifle dissent.

"The Israeli government is hardly the only one to disagree with our well researched findings, but efforts to stifle the messenger signal that it has no appetite for serious scrutiny of its human rights record," Levine said. "We hope the Israeli authorities will reverse this decision and allow both international and domestic human rights groups to work freely."</s>Israel has denied a visa for a Human Rights Watch researcher while accusing the group of spreading “Palestinian propaganda”.

A work permit request was filed for Omar Shakir, the group’s director for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in July but the refusal did not come for more than seven months.

A letter from Israel’s immigration authority said the application had been declined following a review, because of a recommendation by the country’s foreign ministry.

An English translation of the letter seen by The Independent said it “noted that, for some time now, this organisation’s public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda, while falsely raising the banner of ‘human rights’”.

Mr Shakir, an American citizen, said dismissing HRW’s extensive research “put Israel in a group with the most repressive states” it covers, including North Korea, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba, who have all blocked access.

Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry, called HRW a “blatantly hostile anti-Israeli organisation whose reports have the sole purpose of harming Israel with no consideration whatsoever for the truth or reality”.

"Why should we give working visas to people whose only purpose is to besmirch us and to attack us?” he asked.

"We are not masochists and there is no reason we should keep doing that.”

But Mr Nashon said the decision was connected solely to the group's activities and had nothing to do with the ethnicity of Mr Shakir, who is of Iraqi descent.

There were fears the move signalled a wider policy against NRW and other organisations like Amnesty International, who Mr Nashon said would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Mr Shakir said the letter was a “shock” as HRW staff have been given regular access to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories for almost three decades and frequently engage with Israeli authorities, including the military, police and foreign ministry.

The Stanford-educated lawyer has also done work on human rights in Egypt, Pakistan and at Guantanamo Bay detention camp, according to his biography.

HRW condemned claims it was “not a real human rights group”, saying the permit denial was the latest move to constrain the work of local and international human rights groups in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

“This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel’s commitment to basic democratic values,” said Iain Levine, the group’s deputy executive director of programme.

“It is disappointing that the Israeli government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda.”

Mark Toner, a spokesperson for the US State Department, said American authorities did not agree with Israel's assessment.

“HRW is a credible human rights organisation and even though we do not agree with all of their assertions or conclusions, given the seriousness of their efforts, we support the importance of the work they do,” he added.

Donald Trump has provoked controversy with his stance towards Israel, vowing to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital, and appointing a pro-settlement ambassador to Israel.

The New York-based group monitors human rights in over 90 countries, including nations throughout the Middle East and vowed to continue its work in Israel.

It has published a series of critical reports on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which has swung dramatically to the right in recent years with the addition of ultra-nationalists from the pro-settlement Jewish Home party to cabinet.

HRW’s world report accuses Israel of imposing “severe and discriminatory restrictions on Palestinians’ human rights” and facilitating the transfer of Israeli civilians to the occupied West Bank in a possible violation of international law.

It said the response to a wave of Palestinian stabbings, car rammings and shootings, as well as the killing of several demonstrators, constituted the excessive use of force and said Israel committed war crimes while bombing the Gaza Strip during the 2014 war.

But HRW also frequently highlights abuses by Palestinians, accusing internationally backed Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the rival Hamas militant group in Gaza of arbitrarily detaining journalists and activists and torturing detainees.

It also has criticised executions carried out by Hamas and rocket attacks on Israel by the group and other militant factions.

Israel has long accused the group, as well as other human rights organisations, of focusing excessively and unfairly on it and failing to adequately recognise terrorist threats.

Last year, the government passed a Transparency Law requiring groups that receive more than half their funding from abroad to declare it and Israeli authorities have been accused of doing little to help human rights researchers receiving death threats from nationalists.</s>Israeli authorities have denied Human Rights Watch's (HRW) work permit application for its Israel and the Palestinian territories director, saying the NGO is biased and "falsely raising the banner of 'human rights'".

This week, Israel's Ministry of Interior wrote to HRW's Omar Shakir advising him he would not be granted a visa because the ministry believed HRW's "public activities and reports have engaged in politics in the service of Palestinian propaganda".

The respected human rights NGO highlights alleged human rights and international law violations committed by all sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last year, in addition to criticising violations by the Israeli Government, HRW reported on arbitrary detention of journalists and activists by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

It also reported on an extrajudicial execution carried out by Hamas' military wing, a Jerusalem bus bombing by an apparent member of Hamas and executions by Hamas authorities in Gaza.

"This decision and the spurious rationale should worry anyone concerned about Israel's commitment to basic democratic values," Iain Levine, the HRW's deputy executive director of programs, said.

"It is disappointing that the Israeli Government seems unable or unwilling to distinguish between justified criticisms of its actions and hostile political propaganda."

HRW said the decision was particularly surprising given the organisation regularly met and corresponded with Israeli Government officials — including representatives of the military, the police, and the Foreign Ministry.

The NGO also said last year the Israeli Foreign Ministry asked the NGO to intervene in a case involving Israeli victims of human rights abuses.

Israel now joins countries such as Cuba, Egypt, Syria, Sudan and Venezuela that have blocked access for HRW's staff members.

"The Israeli Government is hardly the only one to disagree with our well-researched findings, but efforts to stifle the messenger signal that it has no appetite for serious scrutiny of its human rights record," Mr Levine said.

"We hope the Israeli authorities will reverse this decision and allow both international and domestic human rights groups to work freely."

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz the decision was due to HRW's "extreme, hostile and anti-Israel agenda".

"This is why we have decided that we are no longer willing to turn the other cheek and we will not grant work visas to a person that comes with the clear goal of harming the State of Israel and its good name," Mr Nachshon was reported as saying.
Israel denies entry to Omar Shakir, a researcher for Human Rights Watch and an American citizen, because the organization engages in so-called Palestinian propaganda. HRW's Sari Bashi said, "This Israeli government has been narrowing the space for democratic activity," by closing the country off to critics. Later, the Israel government would grant Mr. Shakir a tourist visa while considering HRW's appeal on the work visa.