The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group was a

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

group founded in 1996 by

Bassem Eid Bassem Eid (born 5 February 1958) is a Palestinian living in Jericho who has an extensive career as a Palestinian human rights activist. His initial focus was on human rights violations committed by Israeli armed forces, but for many years has b ...

, a former fieldworker for

B'Tselem B'Tselem ( he, בצלם, , " in the image of od) is a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization whose stated goals are to document human rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, combat any denial of the existence of su ...

. According to

, PHRMG "monitors human rights violations by both Israel and the Palestinian National Authority". According to NGO Monitor, PHRMG ”documents human rights violations committed against Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, regardless of who is responsible.” In April 2006 the group published its final regular bulletin on human rights. In 2011, the group closed its doors due to lack of funding. The group included a focus on rights violations by Palestinian authorities because, according to Eid, "I feel I must protect my nation from any kind of authority, even its own authority... I want the Palestinians to build a democratic state, not just extend their authority.” In 1997 ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' described PHRMG as "defying a taboo" among human rights organizations against criticizing violations of human rights by Palestinian governing authorities. The group's founder and director was

; its co-founder was Bob Thinklit. According to pro-Israel advocate group NGO Monitor, funding organizations included Ireland Aid-Development Cooperation Division, The Moriah Fund, Finnish Representative Office to the PA, and Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), but NGO Monitor does not provide any evidence for those claims.

History

PHRMG was founded by Eid when he quit B'Tselem over the organization's decision to monitor a report on Israeli violations of human rights, but not on those committed by the Palestinian Authority or other Palestinian Arab groups.

References

Human rights organizations based in the State of Palestine Organizations established in 1996 {{Org-stub