29 December 2005: NGO Monitor News Alert: Background Information on Al-Mezan
According to news reports, Kate Burton was working for the extremist Palestinian NGO known as al-Mezan, based in Gaza, when she was kidnapped with her parents by gunmen on December 28.
Located in Jabalia Refugee Camp, near Rafah in Gaza
Claimed mission: "To protect, respect and promote the internationally accepted standards of human rights...and to encourage the adoption of Palestinian laws in harmony with these international standards... To promote the democracy building process, ...the rule of law, ...accountability and the role of NGOs in the Palestinian society."
Actual activities reflect centrality of radical anti-Israel agenda, including promoting claims of "Israeli war crimes"; inflammatory pictures, and incitement justifying terrorism.
In these activities, Al Mezan erases Palestinian terrorism, including missile attacks launched from densely populated civilian centers in Gaza; also ignores Palestinian corruption, and internal violence.
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