A/HRC/34/36 Shamsiyya, who documented an apparent extrajudicial execution in Hebron, continues to receive threats on the social media website Facebook. 56 48. Organizations involved in international campaigning have also been targeted. Since September 2015, Al-Haq has been subject to regular harassment from anonymous sources. This includes spreading false information about the organization to the public and media and making allegations of financial misconduct. In February 2016, Al-Haq’s Europe Director, who also focuses on advocacy with the International Criminal Court, received anonymous death threats. Al-Haq believes this is part of an “institutionalized, planned and very well-resourced” Israeli campaign. 57 Other Palestinian organizations, including AlMezan, have also been similarly threatened. 58 49. Israeli human rights organizations have also been facing increasing pressure. In July, the Knesset passed the so-called “non-governmental organization transparency law”. Despite the name, as the Secretary-General noted, the law “contributes to a climate in which the activities of human rights organizations are increasingly delegitimized”.59 The High Commissioner and several Special Rapporteurs had previously warned of the chilling effect of the law on the civil society space in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and beyond.60 50. Senior Israeli leaders and politicians have reinforced this chilling effect by making statements that publicly malign human rights organizations. In October 2016, the Israeli organization B’tselem faced vitriolic attacks after its Director had briefed the Security Council. Senior figures, including the Prime Minister and the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, publically condemned him. The Chairman of the ruling coalition called for his citizenship to be stripped. 61 B’tselem staff subsequently received threats. The High Commissioner is concerned that the rhetoric by public figures is contributing to an increasingly repressive environment in which human rights organizations and activists in Israel are seen as legitimate targets for threats and violence by nationalist elements. B. Palestinian authorities 51. Relations between the Palestinian Authority and the authorities in Gaza remain strained,62 and these divisions continue to undermine the respect and protection of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.63 52. In 2014, the Government of the State of Palestine acceded to seven human rights treaties. The process of drafting the initial reports to the respective treaty bodies is under way. The most advanced report, to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, has been inclusive of the views of civil society and the Independent Commission for Human Rights, based on a national consultation held in February 2016 and attended by civil society organizations from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 See www.btselem.org/press_releases/20160901_btselem_volunteer_life_threatened. See www.alhaq.org/advocacy/topics/human-rights-defenders/1026-al-haq-under-attack-staffmembers-life-threatened. See www.mezan.org/en/post/21475/Al+Mezan+Condemns+Continued+Death +Threats+to+Staff+Members+and+Calls+on+the+International+Community+to+Intervene. See footnote 39. See www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54319#.WCXEZS196M9. See www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.748609. See www.ichr.ps/en/1/6/1941/ICHR-21st-Annual-Report.htm. See www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-impact-divided-government. 11