Brussels, 28/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - In an open letter addressed to the Israeli authorities, several European-based NGOs, including Amnesty International, Lawyers without Frontiers-Belgium and Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, express concern about what they say appear to be efforts to hinder the activity of Adalah, the Legal Centre for the rights of the Arab minority in Israel. On 11 August, Adalah learned through the Israeli media that the authorities were initiating an investigation into its activities on alleged grounds of financial mismanagement and control by a political party. The European NGOs are surprised to see such an investigation being launched at a time when Adalah is involved in a number of important cases affecting members of the Arab minority (annulment of family reunification for Israeli citizens with Palestinian spouses who do not have Israeli nationality and the abolition of family allowances for children whose parents have not performed military service) and in the wake of adoption of a set of laws and policies limiting the rights of Arab citizens of Israel.