Italy

Activity

• The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS, a branch of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) provides millions of euros to highly politicized non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that promote anti-Israel narratives, lawfare, and BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns. Some of these organizations have ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel.
• In 2015-2021, AICS provided approximately €23 million to 20 projects in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Direct Funding to Politicized NGOs

• In 2022, AICS granted $97,500 to the Ma’an Development Center via the Italian NGO WeWorld – Gruppo Volontariato Civile Onlus.
  • In May 2018, Ma’an Development Center employee Ahmad Abdallah Aladini was killed during violent clashes on the Gaza border. Aladini was a “comrade” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel. According to the PFLP, Aladini was active against the “Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip.”
    • On his Facebook page, Aladini posted PFLP propaganda, including images that glorify violence and terrorists. On May 7, 2018, Aladini posted a PFLP memorial notice for the death of six members of Hamas who were killed during the “crimes of the Zionist enemy.”
• In 2018-2021, AICS granted €1.8 million to Al-Haq and the Italian NGO Cooperazione i Paesi Emergenti Onlus (COSPE), in partnership with Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII (APG23).
  • On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared Al-Haq a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
    • Al-Haq’s General Director Shawan Jabarin has been linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel.
  • Community Association of Pope Giovanni XXIII (APG23) supports BDS and is signatory to BDS Italia’s campaign statement.
    • Operation Dove (Colomba), the main program of APG23 in Israel, supports “groups of pacifists and activists who oppose, by non-violent methods, the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories” and “the advocacy work and legal support of Israeli human rights organizations that monitor violations perpetrated against Palestinians.”
• In 2018-2020, AICS granted €841,701 to the Italian NGO Associazione Di Cooperazione E Solidarieta (ACS) for projects with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC).
  • The Union of Agricultural Work Committee (UAWC) is identified by Fatah as an official “affiliate” and by USAID-engaged audit as the “agricultural arm” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel. For more information on UAWC’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Union of Agricultural Work Committees Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
  • On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared UAWC a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.”
• In 2021-2022, Italy granted $17,000 to EducAid Onlus in partnership with Islamic Relief Palestine (IRPAL), Save the Children, and Vento di Terra.
  • On June 19, 2014, Israel’s Defense Minister declared Islamic Relief Worldwide to be illegal, based on its alleged role in funneling money to Hamas, and banned it from operating in Israel and the West Bank. (Hamas is a designated terror organization by Israel, the U.S., EU, and Canada.) According to news reports, the decision was made after “the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the coordinator for government activities in the territories, and legal authorities provided incriminating information against IRW.”
    • Since 2006, IRPAL has cooperated with the Al-Falah Society. According to the Meir Amit Institute, the Al-Falah Society Charitable is one of “Hamas’s charitable societies.” Al-Falah is run by Ramadan Tanboura, who according to Haaretz is a “well-known Hamas figure.” According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Hamas held a reception for Tanboura “on his return from an eight-month fund-raising trip to the Gulf States. Senior Hamas figures also participated.”
  • On May 18, 2018, Save the Children and the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution sponsored a workshop at the Dar al Huda kindergarten, “Training of Teachers on Positive Discipline in Everyday Teaching.”
    • On May 26, 2018, the Dar al Huda kindergarten in Gaza held a graduation ceremony that included the mock killing and kidnapping of Israelis by children dressed as combatants. The simulation included sophisticated equipment such as drones, body cameras, military fatigues, body armor, and sniper camouflage. Children wore headbands representing Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), designated as a terrorist organization by the US, EU, and others.
    • According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Dar al Huda held similarly exploitative military-style events in in 2017 and 2016.
  • Despite claiming to “invest in social and educational services to support a peace culture in the heart of the conflict,” Vento di Terra pushes the Palestinian political narrative and blames Israel exclusively for the situation. VdT repeatedly argues that the sole impediment to Palestinian.
• In 2018-2021, AICS granted €1,800,000 to ActionAid Palestine.
  • ActionAid, a South African NGO, leads tours in Bethlehem and Hebron where participants are encouraged to “come face-to-face with the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” “illegal Israeli settlements,” and the “political struggles between locals and the Israeli occupation over land, water, and the building of the Israeli separation wall.”

Indirect Funding

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

• In 2021, the Italian government granted $60,000 to Italian NGO EducAid Onlus, in partnership with Vento di Terra, Save the Children, and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
  • NRC supports politicized “Litigation of public interest cases …through Israeli courts and international mechanisms” in 2016. Previously, NRC funded over 4,000 cases and legal interventions in Israeli forums.
  • A lawyer affiliated with the NRC program stated that the objective of these cases is an attempt to “try every possible legal measure to disrupt the Israeli judicial system… as many cases as possible are registered and that as many cases as possible are appealed to increase the workload of the courts and the Supreme Court to such an extent that there will be a blockage.” (emphasis added)
  • NRC works with a narrow selection of political NGOs that promote a one-sided narrative of the conflict in implementing its legal aid and “public interest litigation” related programs. In 2016 and 2017, NRC partnered with HaMoked, JLAC, Society of St. Yves, Terrestrial Jerusalem, Yesh Din, CAC, Bimkom, Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution(PCDCR), Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Al Mezan, among others.

Oxfam 

• In 2013-2021, AICS gave €2,115,131 to Oxfam Italia for a project “From the water to the market: a great challenge for the small farmers and the women producing milk products in the West Bank.”
• In 2020, Italy granted $429,646 to Oxfam Novib to “Promote the resilience of the vulnerable groups in Gaza Strip through WASH Support to vulnerable and under-served Communities.”
• Oxfam consistently paints a highly misleading picture of the Arab-Israeli conflict, departing from its humanitarian mission focused on poverty. Most Oxfam statements erase all complexity and blame Israel exclusively for the situation, and these distortions and their impacts contribute significantly to the conflict.
• Oxfam has supported the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR),Adalah, Al Mezan, Bimkom, Breaking the Silence, Coalition of Women for Peace, Culture and Free Thought Association, Emek Shaveh, Gisha, HaMoked, MIFTAH, Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC), Palestinian Medical Relief Society, Palestinian Working Women Society for Development, Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ), The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity – AMAN, Union of Health Work Committees (UAWC), Women’s Affairs Center (WAC), Women’s Centre for Legal Aid a Counselling (WCLAC), Women’s Studies Center, Yesh Din, as well as other “undisclosed” partners.

Un Ponte Per (UPP)

• According to UPP, in 2020 the organization received €13,518,104 from public and private entities. UPP does not detail the sources of government funding.
  • Supports BDS campaigns against Israel.

EMERGENCY

• In 2023, EMERGENCY received funding from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation for projects in Afghanistan and Sudan.
• EMERGENCY, an Italian-based NGO founded in 1994, is active in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa and in Italy. There is no indication of presence in Gaza and the West Bank.
• EMERGENCY has published several posts accusing Israel of a “massacre” of civilians, “complete destruction of Al-Shifa Hospital,” and attacks against hospitals.
• According to its 2023 annual report, “Since the war began in Gaza in October 2023, EMERGENCY has been active in advocacy efforts calling for a permanent ceasefire. In Italy, the appeal ‘Cessate il fuoco’ – led by EMERGENCY, Laboratorio Ebraico Antirazzista, Mediterranea, and Assopace Palestina – collected over 120,000 signatures in a matter of weeks. Internationally, EMERGENCY joined the appeal ‘Ceasefire Now’ alongside more than 1.3 million signatories. Together the appeals call for immediate humanitarian aid and an end to the violence, as well as long-term political solutions. Civilians are not bargaining chips, and hospitals and aid workers are not legitimate targets. The only solution is a ceasefire, now.”

Indirect Funding via UN Frameworks

Funding to the World Health Organization

• In 2022, Italy granted $3,853,485 to the World Health Organization for a project with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) and the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO).
  • Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS)
    • In May 2019, PMRS President Mustafa Barghouti attended a memorial event organized by the PFLP. It centered on PFLP political bureau member Rabah Muhanna, who, according to information posted by the PFLP, “contributed to the establishment” of several PFLP-affiliated NGOs. The hall was decorated with PFLP paraphernalia.
    • In March 2019, Sajed Mizher, a “first aid volunteer” for Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), was killed by the Israeli security forces “during confrontations…in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem.” Mizher was a “comrade“ of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the S., EU, Canada, and Israel). Mizher’s funeral procession featured many individuals wearing military gear, PFLP paraphernalia, and PFLP banners. Mizher’s body was also adorned in PFLP paraphernalia, as well as a PMRS orange reflective vest.  (For more details, see NGO Monitor’s blog “Palestinian NGO Medic Killed in Bethlehem Clashes Had Ties to PFLP Terror Group.”)
  • Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO)
    • PNGO is an umbrella organization comprising 142 Palestinian NGO member organizations, many of which support BDS campaigns and have ties to the PFLP terror group. In January 2020, PNGO vehemently opposed a new clause in European Union grant contracts with Palestinian NGOs that prohibits grantees from working with and funding organizations and individuals designated on the EU’s terror lists.  PNGO claimed that Palestinian terrorist organizations are “political parties.”
    • Multiple PNGO officials have ties to terrorist organizations, and at least five PNGO members have ties to EU-designated terror organizations, including through their employees and/or board members who are directly involved in activities and programs.
    • In October 2019, Walid Hanatsheh – a member of PNGO’s board of directors and the Financial and Administrative director for Health Work Committees, an organization with ties to the PFLP – was arrested for participating in a terrorist attack in which a 17-year old was murdered.  According to the indictment against him, Hanatsheh bankrolled the bombing. Following his arrest, the PFLP labeled Hanatsheh a “leader in the Popular Front.”

Funding to the UN-OCHA oPt Humanitarian Fund

• In 2022, Italy provided the “occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund” with $547,645.
  • Several PFLP-linked NGOs, including UAWC, UHWC, and PCHR are regular recipients of disbursements from the “occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund.”

Italian Funding to Political NGOs