The Hamas front group the Palestinian Rights Center (PRC) received official UN non-governmental organization (NGO) status on Monday night, angering Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud). 

“The decision that a Hamas organization will join the UN is outrageous,” Hotovely stated. “Hamas, only last summer, was hiding behind women and children to fire missiles at Israeli civilian centers.”

“Inserting the Hamas-affiliated organization into UN institutions is awarding a prize to terrorism and its activities – there is no other way to interpret this decision,” she added. 

Out of the 19-member Committee for NGOs, 12 supported the decision – including Iran, Sudan, Venezuela, Turkey, Pakistan, China and Cuba. Opposing were the United States, Uruguay and Israel alone; India, Russia and Greece abstained.

The PRC now has full access to UN events and participation in debates, and – most importantly – has gained more ammo for international legitimacy. 

Watchdog groups monitoring the Muslim Brotherhood have noted that the PRC’s leaders include Ghassan Faour, a member of Hamas front group Interpal, and Zaher Birawi, the head of the pro-Hamas Al-Hiwar TV with ties to Muslim Brotherhood leaders in the UK.

The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has released an extensive report on the PRC as well, and concludes that the group is closely affiliated with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and that several of its members are terrorists who have fled to Britain.

According to the meeting’s official timetable, the PRC has applied for NGO status before, and has been rejected.