The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has accused Israeli right-wing legal aid organisation Honenu of providing support to settlers accused or convicted of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
A report by the PLO’s National Office for Land Defense, which monitors violations in the West Bank, detailed how Honenu provides legal assistance and free defence to extremist Israeli settlers accused of committing violent crimes and acts of terrorism against Palestinians.
According to the report, the support is intended to obstruct efforts to hold perpetrators accountable, secure their swift release and enable further attacks in the West Bank.
Titled “Symbols of Hatred in Settlements Incite More Crimes”, the report also accused EU countries and the US of applying “double standards”.
It said Western governments had pressured the Palestinian Authority to end its system of payments to families of Palestinians killed by Israel or held in Israeli prisons, while allegedly overlooking similar forms of support provided to Israeli settlers.
“Honenu follows an organized policy of providing direct financial support, salaries and bonuses to the families of extremist settlers imprisoned for committing terrorist crimes or acts of violence against Palestinians,” the report said.
The PLO said that the organisation seeks to maintain families’ financial stability while settlers are imprisoned, help them withstand interrogations without admitting to crimes and encourage others to carry out similar attacks.
The report added that Honenu operates “under the sight and hearing of the Israeli government” and provides “fixed monthly salaries” to the wives and families of settlers detained or convicted of killing Palestinians or setting fire to Palestinian homes, covering their living expenses throughout their prison sentences.
It also said the organisation “regularly deposits money into the personal accounts of settlers inside prisons”, allowing them to purchase daily necessities.
According to the report, Honenu provides additional financial assistance and bonuses to families with children, including help with school expenses, religious occasions and family celebrations to compensate for the absence of a family breadwinner.
The assistance also covers transport costs for relatives and wives travelling from settlements to Israeli prisons to visit detained family members.
The funds primarily come from tax-exempt donations from wealthy individuals and right-wing organisations in the US and Israel, alongside facilitation and indirect protection from extremist Israeli government bodies.
The report also identified far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir as one of the prominent figures linked to the organisation.
Since becoming National Security Minister in 2022, Ben-Gvir has exercised extensive influence over Israel’s police and prison authorities, despite his history as a far-right politician who has faced convictions and allegations of incitement to violence.
The report comes as Palestinian rights organisations have repeatedly accused Israeli prison authorities of imposing harsh conditions on Palestinian detainees, including restrictions on family contact, inadequate medical care, solitary confinement and other punitive measures. Israel maintains that its prison policies are based on security considerations.
The latest dispute also comes amid heightened international concern over the treatment of Palestinian prisoners and detainees since the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
Palestinian officials have repeatedly called for independent international monitoring of detention facilities and greater accountability over alleged violations.
Data compiled by Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din between 2005 and 2024 found that 94 per cent of police investigation files concerning ideologically motivated offences by Israeli civilians against Palestinians in the West Bank were closed without an indictment.
The organisation also found that the probability of an Israeli soldier being prosecuted for killing a Palestinian stood at 0.4 per cent.