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| Road with wall down the middle – Anata, East Jerusalem One side for Palestinians. One side for Israelis |
The American-Arab Anti- Discrimination Committee (ADC) has filed multiple administrative complaints with the US Department of the Treasury, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). the organization requested investigations into organizations claiming tax-exempt status under section 501(C)3 of the US Tax Code yet allegedly raising funds for the development of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The ADC alleges that many organizations are supporting illegal and terrorist activities abroad with assets and income in a manner that violates their stated purpose.
The construction of settlements in occupied territory is illegal under international humanitarian law. The use of tax-exempt status to raise funds for these types of activities is also illegal under US law. Further, it is a central part of stated US policy toward the Arab- Israeli conflict that settlement expansion and construction must stop. In filing its complaints, ADC seeks to ensure that US tax laws are not being exploited, and violated, by certain organizations which are allegedly using their tax-exempt status contradictory to stated US policies on this issue.
Recent criticism by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton against the Israeli government’s ongoing expansion of the settlements indicate an ongoing US policy to halt these obstacles to peace. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including the system of segregation roads, walls and checkpoints which surround them, continue to debilitate life for Palestinians in the occupied territory. More information on the challenges associated with Israeli settlement construction and detailed information on the settlement enterprise can be read in the recently-released ADC-Research Institute’s issue paper on this subject
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