Hawzah News Agency-The Portuguese Ministry of Justice announced that it has withdrawn from a joint EU-funded project with the Israeli Ministry of Public Security, the Israeli National Police and Israel’s Bar Ilan university.
The project, aimed at unifying police interrogation methodologies, has generated controversy in Portugal because of vocal opposition to Israel’s participation in the EU’s Horizon 2020 research framework and the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Israeli entities taking part.
The Portuguese government came under heavy pressure from civil society groups campaigning for an end to the cooperation with Israel. Opposition parties denounced in parliament the routine torture by the Israeli police and the role of the Ministry of Public Security in the illegal detention of thousands of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.
Jamal Juma’ coordinator of Stop the Wall, a member organisation of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), praised the principled decision of Portugal government:
“This decision by Portugal gives hope to our people and sends a strong message to Israel that there is no business as usual for as long as it continues military aggression against Gaza and repression in the West Bank. This EU project gives tacit recognition to Israel’s control and military repression of the Palestinian people and turns a blind eye to Israel’s notorious abuse of Palestinians that includes routine torture as an ‘interrogation technique’.”
Activist groups in Spain and Belgium have vowed to step up campaigning to end the project after this latest victory.
The Movimento pelos Direitos do Povo Palestino e Pela Paz no Medio Oriente (MPP), initiator of the of civil society coalition against the project, has declared:
“We congratulate the decision of the Ministry of Justice to put an end to the participation of the Portuguese Police in the LAW TRAIN project. The withdrawal of the Portuguese government from the project is a victory of all the forces that in Palestine, in Portugal and in Europe called for an end to this project of cooperation with Israel’s repressive apparatus.”
As part of the campaign in the rest of Europe MEPs from Portugal, Spain and Belgium wrote to the European Commission denouncing the project. Civil society groups are planning protest actions.