An Israeli government official reiterated on Tuesday that they had briefed the United States about the impending designation of six Palestinian NGOs as terror organizations.
In an interview with Israel’s Army Radio, Joshua Zarka, deputy director-general of strategic affairs in the Foreign Ministry, claimed that there was “definitely an exchange and discussion” with America on the issue.
Zarka further responded to U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price’s comment on Monday that “It is, to the best of our knowledge, accurate that we did not receive a specific heads-up about any forthcoming designations,” he told reporters.
Zarka said “it seems he did not receive an update the way he thought he should receive. … It can happen between the best of friends—that we thought our update was in-depth enough, especially as it was delivered on a few occasions, while they thought that it needed to be done in a better way,” reported Haaretz.
“We want to fix this in order to ensure that such things will not be repeated because our partnership with the United States is of the utmost importance,” emphasized Zarka. “We’re talking about the country that is our main diplomatic supporter.”
Officials from Israel’s foreign ministry and the Shin Bet are planning to send a delegation to Washington to present the Biden administration with information about the named Palestinian NGOs and their ties to the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which was designated a terror group by the United States in October 1997.
