Israel urges France to rescind prize to B'Tselem
Deputy Foreign Minister Hotovely writes letter to her French counterpart urging him to rescind Human Rights Prize awarded to 'anti-Israeli organizations' B'Tselem and Al-Haq.
The award honors individuals or organizations that promote human rights, particularly those that are harassed or persecuted for their work.
The award ceremony is expected be held at the Ministry of Justice in Paris on Monday, on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Right.
In a letter, sent to French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet on Sunday, Hotovely called the decision to award the prize to the controversial NGOs “a badge of honor to anti-Israeli organizations."
The letter is part of a campaign by Israeli officials in France. Israel's Ambassador to Paris Aliza Bin-Noun staged a protest against the decision in front of the French Justice Ministry last week.
The deputy foreign minister emphasized in the letter that Israel expects France to rescind the award.
"B'Tselem is an organization that bases its activity on unreliable sources in order to harm Israel, while Al-Haq promotes a boycott against Israel and some of the organization’s members are linked to terror groups, such as the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF),” she stressed in the letter.
The B’Tselem organization said that to the extent of their knowledge, the decision will not be reversed, and that Justice Minister Belloubet along with the President of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) Christine Lazerges, are due to award the prize to both organizations during a ceremony on Monday evening.
However, according to sources in Israel, there is a possibility the French justice minister will not attend the ceremony and will be replaced by an official from the French Foreign Ministry.
The prize for outstanding achievements in the field of human rights is awarded by the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights under the title "Liberty - Equality - Fraternity."
Past recipients include human rights defenders from Nicaragua, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Cambodia, Colombia, Rwanda, France and others.
