Former Addameer director Sahar Francis calls the raid part of a propaganda show before Israel's election
Sahar FrancisHuman rights lawyer and former general director of Addameer
Francis says she would claim the raid was part of a propaganda show the Israeli government was implementing just before its election, to send a message to Palestinian society and the Palestinian Authority, and that the aim was harassment and collective punishment.
“I would claim that this is part of the whole propaganda show that this government is actually implementing just before the Israeli election, couple of weeks before the Israeli election, to send a very clear message to the whole Palestinian society”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Israeli forces raid an office in Ramallah that Israel says is Addameer's; the IDF says the group is terror-funded, and Palestinian rights groups call the raid politically motivated
On October 13, 2026, Israeli forces raided offices in Ramallah that Israel said belonged to the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, two groups Israel designated as terrorist organizations in 2021. Forces confiscated equipment and files and deployed snipers around the nearby Palestine Medical Complex. The next day the IDF and the Israel Security Agency said the "Addameer charity association" is funded by terror funds and gives legal assistance to imprisoned members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council and Sahar Francis, a former Addameer director, called the raid harassment timed to Israel's upcoming election.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
Democracy Now! interview broadcast October 14, 2026, with transcript. Amy Goodman speaks with Sahar Francis, former general director of Addameer, about the previous day's raid in Ramallah. Francis says the offices had been closed since 2022, describes destroyed files and equipment, and calls the raid part of a show staged before Israel's election.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Amy Goodman says the offices of Addameer and other groups were closed years ago after Israel classified them as terrorist organizations, and asks what they were raiding. Francis says the offices were raided in 2020 and that the groups were forced to close after the decision to designate six Palestinian organizations as terrorist organizations. The Democracy Now! introduction says Addameer was forced to close its West Bank offices in 2022.
After the quotation
She says the forces mostly broke and destroyed files and equipment rather than confiscating property, says "They just wanted to cause harassment", and argues that treating Addameer's legal office as terrorism would make legal representation of Palestinian prisoners before Israeli military courts a terror act.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case looks at the October 13 raid on the Ramallah office Israel attributes to Addameer. Francis calls the raid propaganda and harassment, so we labeled it a condemnation.
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- People and groups discussed
- Israel Defense Forces
More from this case
Read the full caseIDF says the 'Addameer charity association' is funded by terror funds
Israel Defense Forces
“the 'Addameer charity association' is funded by terror funds and provides legal assistance to PFLP terrorists held in prison”Read statement
Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council denounces the raid as an attack on civil society
Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council
“The Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC) strongly denounces the latest attacks by Israel, as the latest in a series of repressive measures aimed at silencing the work of Palestinian civil society”Read statement
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- Former Addameer director Sahar Francis calls the raid part of a propaganda show before Israel's election
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The Dispute Index. "Former Addameer director Sahar Francis calls the raid part of a propaganda show before Israel's election". First published: 2026-10-25. Last updated: 2026-10-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/6797-francis-says-she-would-claim-the-raid-was