RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israel raided the offices of several Palestinian advocacy groups it had previously designated as terrorist organizations, sealing entrance doors and leaving notices declaring them closed, the groups said Thursday.

Israel has claimed some of these groups had ties to the militant Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a claim the groups denied.

Rights defenders have described Israel's moves against the groups as part of a decades-long crackdown on political activist in the occupied territories.

Most of the targeted organizations document alleged human rights violations by Israel as well as the Palestinian Authority, both of which routinely detain Palestinian activists.