Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism released a report this week alleging that the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor maintains ties to Hamas and plays a central role in promoting anti-Israel legal and media campaigns worldwide.
One of the NGO’s primary figures, founder and chairman Ramy Abdu, was the subject of an Israeli administrative detention order issued in 2020 under Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Law due to his alleged activities with “IPalestine,” an organization designated by Israel as affiliated with Hamas, according to the report published on May 13.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, while registered in Switzerland as a regional human rights organization, focuses overwhelmingly on anti-Israel advocacy, including documentation efforts, legal submissions to international bodies and media campaigns accusing Israel of war crimes and genocide, the report states.
The ministry said the organization provided “evidentiary infrastructure” to South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, including allegations related to mass graves and damage to Gaza’s healthcare system.
The report also highlighted public statements made by Abdu following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
In a Jan. 31, 2026, post cited by the ministry, Abdu wrote: “Israel will continue to kill and displace Palestinians under any circumstances, even if they are defenseless. Regardless of promises, our people and their resistance must never lay down their arms. Never.”
Abdu also wrote in May 2025 that if Oct. 7 was viewed as justification for Israeli actions in Gaza, then “a million October 7ths” could likewise be justified by decades of Israeli policies.
The ministry further alleged that Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor promotes accusations of “systematic sexual violence” by Israeli forces and campaigns for Israel’s inclusion on United Nations blacklists.
The report linked the Gaza-based terrorist organization to a recent opinion piece by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof accusing Israeli security personnel of sexual offenses against Palestinians, saying one of Kristof’s primary sources was connected to Euro-Med and its leadership.
‘A Hamas member and terrorist’
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli sharply criticized the newspaper.
“It is regrettable to hear that The New York Times, which for years served as a symbol of quality journalism, falls victim time and again to the Palestinians’ wholesale lies,” Chikli said. “The Euro-Med organization, which the newspaper chose to cite, is headed by none other than a Hamas member and terrorist.”
The ministry’s director-general, Avi Cohen-Scali, accused the paper of amplifying Hamas narratives.
“The New York Times is providing a platform for the ideology of a murderous terrorist organization,” Cohen-Scali said. “The report reveals a method of operation that feeds lies, ideological agendas and incitement against the State of Israel in an attempt to shape an anti-Israel and antisemitic narrative.”
The report describes Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor as a “multi-channel mechanism” combining legal advocacy, media operations and digital activism.
The organization operates projects such as “WikiRights,” aimed at influencing Wikipedia entries related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including pages dealing with the “Nakba” and allegations of “Gaza genocide,” the ministry said.
The report also names Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University and chairman of Euro-Med’s board of trustees, noting his longstanding criticism of Israel during his tenure as a U.N. special rapporteur.
The organization systematically operates within international institutions, including the U.N. Human Rights Council, the International Court of Justice and other global legal forums, while simultaneously training activists and cultivating networks of legal and media advocates, the ministry said.
According to the report, Euro-Med’s findings have been cited in international media outlets including The Guardian, CNN and Al Jazeera, as well as in more than 400 academic publications.
