The Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016 (hereinafter: the Law) authorizes the Minister of Defense to designate a group of persons as a Terrorist Organization. Such a designation may be made following a reasoned request by a Security Agency (Israel Security Agency, Israel Defense Force, the Mossad, Israel Police) and the consent of the Attorney General of Israel.
The designation is formed in two stages:
1. A temporary designation.
2. If after three months no appeal has been lodged the designation becomes permanent.
A designated Terrorist Organization may submit to the Minister of Defense its reservations or objections both against a temporary or a permanent designation. These reservations or objections will be reviewed by an Advisory Committee, chaired by a retired Supreme Court or District Court judge. The Committee will then examine their reservations or objections and make its recommendations to the Minister of Defense.
The Law also authorizes the Minister of Defense to designate a (foreign) group of persons as a terrorist organization or a foreign person as a terrorist, if such a group of individuals or person was previously designated by a competent authority outside Israel.
The designations are published in the Official Gazette of the State of Israel and on the NBCTF website.
Publication is done under the Counter-Terrorism Decree (Declaration that a Group of Persons is a Terrorist Organization), 5778-2018, and the Counter-Terrorism Decree (Designation as a Terrorist Organization of a Foreign Group of Persons or an Individual Active in Terror), 5778-2018. In the case of organizations with a center of operations in Israel, the designation will also be published in two newspapers, one in Hebrew and one in Arabic.
The Process of Designating Terrorist Organizations in Israel.
