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| Israeli Police Investigate B’Tselem Office Fire | Israeli Police Investigate B’Tselem Office Fire |
| (21 days later) | |
| JERUSALEM — The Israeli police said early Monday that they were investigating whether a fire late Sunday night in a building housing the Jerusalem offices of an Israeli group that monitors the treatment of Palestinians was deliberately set. | JERUSALEM — The Israeli police said early Monday that they were investigating whether a fire late Sunday night in a building housing the Jerusalem offices of an Israeli group that monitors the treatment of Palestinians was deliberately set. |
| No one was hurt in the fire at the offices of B’Tselem, a nongovernmental agency founded in 1989 that has been among those criticized by Israeli government officials for securing funding abroad. | No one was hurt in the fire at the offices of B’Tselem, a nongovernmental agency founded in 1989 that has been among those criticized by Israeli government officials for securing funding abroad. |
| B’Tselem, also known as the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has been at the center of a political dispute following a weekend television report suggesting that an activist affiliated with the group informed Palestinian security services about Palestinians who had sold land to Jews, which is considered a crime by Palestinians. | B’Tselem, also known as the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has been at the center of a political dispute following a weekend television report suggesting that an activist affiliated with the group informed Palestinian security services about Palestinians who had sold land to Jews, which is considered a crime by Palestinians. |
| Fire investigators and police officials are examining the fire for signs of arson, a Fire Department spokesman told the newspaper Haaretz. The fire appeared to have started in two places, the spokesman said. | Fire investigators and police officials are examining the fire for signs of arson, a Fire Department spokesman told the newspaper Haaretz. The fire appeared to have started in two places, the spokesman said. |
| The building also houses the offices of Hand in Hand, an organization behind a bilingual school for Israeli and Palestinian students that was targeted in a November 2014 arson attack, as well as the Israel Airports Authority. | The building also houses the offices of Hand in Hand, an organization behind a bilingual school for Israeli and Palestinian students that was targeted in a November 2014 arson attack, as well as the Israel Airports Authority. |
| B’Tselem said in a statement: “We are still waiting for the findings of the fire investigator. However, if it is discovered that this was an arson attack, it must be seen in the context of the wave of government incitement and smear campaigns against Israel’s human rights groups, and B’Tselem in particular.” | B’Tselem said in a statement: “We are still waiting for the findings of the fire investigator. However, if it is discovered that this was an arson attack, it must be seen in the context of the wave of government incitement and smear campaigns against Israel’s human rights groups, and B’Tselem in particular.” |
| The Israeli government has proposed legislation that would require nongovernmental organizations to disclose funding they receive from foreign governments. |