Activity

• The Danish government funds numerous Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) directly through the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA), and indirectly through the United Nations, DanChurchAid, and aid organizations such as Oxfam Novib and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
• According to DANIDA’s Openaid website, in 2023-2024, the Danish government disbursed DKK 608 million (≈$95 million) for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.
• Many NGOs that receive Danish funding lead campaigns and political activities that are inconsistent with Danish government policies to promote peace and a two-state framework in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Many Danish-funded NGOs are centrally involved in anti-Israel BDS and lawfare
• On December 22, 2017, following a review of its support for Palestinian NGOs, Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen announced that Denmark would tighten conditions for Danish assistance to Palestinian NGOs.
• In October 2018, the Danish Foreign Minister announced a new policy regarding “Explanations about the conditions for Danish support for Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations” and stating that “The use of Danish funds for political purposes, including BDS activities, is unacceptable” and Denmark would no longer fund organizations “associating with a terrorist movement,” “violating human rights principles,” or “questioning Israel’s right to exist.”

Developments Since the October 7th Hamas Massacre

• On October 10, 2023, the Danish government announced it would suspend all development aid to the West Bank and Gaza while conducting a review to ensure that “no Danish funding is misused to indirectly support terrorist organisations that attack Israel.”
• After a governmental review, Denmark’s authorities stated they found no evidence that development funding had been misused to support terrorism. On December 11, 2023, Denmark resumed the disbursement of DKK 72 million in frozen development aid to Gaza.

Investigations into Problematic Danish Funding

• In May 2017, a Secretariat-funded NGO, Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC), inaugurated a youth center in the town of Burqa, near Nablus. The center is named after Dalal Mughrabi, a terrorist who in 1978 murdered 37 civilians, including 12 children.
• In response, the Danish Foreign Minister stated that he would investigate funding to NGOs stating, “if any of these organizations crossed a line… if a leader of one of these organizations for example publicly announced that they want to get rid of all Jews, or kill all Jews, anything like that, of course we will immediately close down the support… If you end up in a way where you have an aggressive rhetoric, wanting to kill people or do illegal things, then of course we will immediately close down the support…”
• On June 2, 2017, after further investigation, the Danish Foreign Minister stated that he was “outraged that WATC, claiming to work for human rights, not just glorified a terrorist, but also abused the trust of a generous people like the Danish. It is totally unacceptable, and I cannot too strongly denounce it. Denmark and Danish tax money should under no circumstances be used for anything that in any way glorify or promote terrorism. Therefore, we now require of WACT that they pay Danish support back” (emphasis added).

Direct Funding via the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA)

• On October 19, 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark announced “new agreements with seven Israeli and Palestinian NGOs on support for human rights work in Palestine.” According to the Ministry, “This reduces the number of supported NGOs from past 23 to now 7, as well as underpinning tighter criteria.” The NGOS included on the project, titled “Strengthening Human Rights and Democratic Accountability,” are Breaking the Silence, B’Tselem, Gisha, Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI), Democracy and Workers’ Rights Centre, Women’s Affairs Center, and Women’s Studies Center.
• The project was renewed for 2021-2025, with the majority of the money being granted via the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
  • No NGOs were named in the program’s official description, reflecting a lack of transparency. However, a Freedom of Information request by NGO Monitor revealed that the NGOs from the original program continue to receive Danish support [on file with NGO Monitor].

DANIDA Funding to Palestinian NGOs

• In 2021-2025, the Independent Commission of Human Rights (ICHR) received DKK 26.2 million for the “Human Rights and Democratic Accountability” program.
  • ICHR regularly collaborates with and has demonstrated its support for EU, US, Canada and Israel-designated terror groups, such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
  • In October 2024, ICHR was a signatory on a statement: “As the Israeli military aggression enters its second year on the occupied Palestinian territories, targeting mainly the Gaza Strip, the occupying power ‘Israel’ continues to commit the crime of multi-level genocide that affects all aspects of public life, with the aim of turning the Gaza Strip into an uninhabitable area, as part of the policy of ethnic engineering and the implementation of the displacement plan.”
• In 2021-2023, Al-Haq received DKK 1.6 million [information via Freedom of Information request; on file with NGO Monitor] via UNDP under the “Human Rights and Democratic Accountability” project.
  • Al-Haq is a leader in anti-Israel “lawfare” campaigns and BDS activities.
  • 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’.”
  • In May 2018, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express shut down online credit card donations to Al-Haq due to the group’s ties to the PFLP.
  • Al-Haq General Director Shawan Jabarin is tied to the PFLP. As a result, his requests for Israeli exit visas have been denied on several occasions, and he has been denied entry by Jordan.  In a series of court cases in 2007-2009, the Israeli High Court of Justice found Jabarin to be a senior PFLP activist (2007, 2008, 2009).
    • In 2017, Al-Haq director Shawan Jabarin participated in a panel discussion on “The requirement for supporting and the success of the national [Palestinian internal] reconciliation.” Jabarin joined the panel with Yahya Sinwar via video.
  • Al-Haq officials have celebrated and defended the murder of Israeli civilians – including the October 7th massacre.
    • On October 10, 2023, Al-Haq Head of the Training and Capacity Building Unit Ziad Hmaidan wrote on Facebook, “It is written in the Hadith: ‘You must wage jihad. The best jihad is preparing for war, and it is best to prepare for war in Ashkelon’.”
    • On October 10, 2023, Al-Haq Legal Researcher and Advocacy Officer Ahmed Abofoul tweeted, “It is outrageous to call on Palestinian resistance (permitted by international law) to CEASE its attacks while asking the occupying power ONLY to respect IHL.”
• In 2021-2023, the Democracy and Workers Rights Center (DWRC) received DKK 1.9 million  [information via Freedom of Information request; on file with NGO Monitor] via UNDP under the “Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.”
  • In December 2023, DWRC was a signatory on a joint statement calling for “Arrest Warrants for Israeli officials to Prevent Genocide Against Palestinians.”
  • In October 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack, DWRC was a signatory on a statement calling to “emphasize that the root causes of these events is the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel.” According to the statement, “We consider the flagrant unconditional support the U.S and European officials are offering Israel occupation while ignoring the plight of the Palestinian people as complicity in Israeli human rights violations and crimes against humanity, including the crime of apartheid. It is the international community’s failure to hold the Israel occupation accountable for its crimes that have led to the current situation.”
  • In November 2022, DWRC was a signatory on a letter to the ICC Prosecutor to “Urgently expedite his investigation into the Situation of Palestine, including the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.open racism and intolerance has pervaded the society.”
• In 2021-2023, the Women’s Studies Center received DKK 3,2 million  [information via Freedom of Information request; on file with NGO Monitor] via UNDP under the “Human Rights and Democratic Accountability” project.
  • Women’s Studies Center supports BDS campaigns.
  • Falsely accuses Israel of “commit[ing] a massacre in the Jenin refugee camp.”
  • Claims “[t]here has been an increase of acts of violence within society and against the Palestinian women, in particular, due to the violent conditions related to the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian territorial division in addition to prevailing culture and unfair legislations.”
• In 2020-2021, the Women’s Affairs Center received DKK 3.2 million. In 2021-2025, it is receiving an unspecified amount via UNDP under the Human Rights and Democratic Accountability project.
  • WAC accuses Israel of “clear war crimes” and perpetuating a “Nakba,” and is active in supporting BDS campaigns.
  • Participates in discriminatory campaigns such as “Love in the Time of Apartheid Campaign: The Palestinian Campaign for Repealing Israel’s Racist Law Denying Family Reunification.”

DANIDA Funding to Israeli NGOs

• In 2021-2023, B’Tselem received DKK 5.8 million  [information via Freedom of Information request; on file with NGO Monitor] via UNDP under the “Human Rights and Democratic Accountability” project.
  • B’Tselem actively pursues its political agenda of “international consequences” and international pressure on Israel via lobbying of the UN and European governments.
  • In January 2021, B’Tselem launched a discriminatory and hateful campaign, under the banner of “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid.” As part of the campaign, B’Tselem attacked Israel’s role as a haven for the Jewish people (the Law of Return) and used the phrase “from the river to the sea” – echoing long-standing Palestinian terminology for the destruction of Israel. (Read NGO Monitor’s analysis: “From the “River to the Sea”: B’Tselem’s Demonization Crosses the Line.”)
  • In July 2024, B’Tselem urged the international community to “use every tool – criminal, diplomatic and economic – to force Israeli decision-makers to end the occupation.”
  • In May 2024, B’Tselem published a statement claiming, “It is time we understood that violence and disregard for human life are keystones of the Israeli apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. So long as this regime continues to exist, there will be more violence and more victims — Palestinian and Israeli. The only way to ensure safety for us all is to end the apartheid regime.”
• In 2021-2023, Breaking the Silence received DKK 3.9 million [information via Freedom of Information request; on file with NGO Monitor] via UNDP under the “Human Rights and Democratic Accountability” project.
  • Breaking the Silence makes sweeping accusations based on anecdotal, anonymous, and unverifiable accounts of often low-ranked soldiers. These “testimonies” lack context, are politically biased, and erase the complicated reality in the West Bank. In addition, they reflect a distorted interpretation of the conflict in order to advance the political agenda of Breaking the Silence activists, thereby fueling the international campaigns against Israel.
  • In July 2024, Breaking the Silence was a signatory on a statement calling on the US Congress to “tie any future military aid to Israel to a clear demonstration of Israel’s commitment to and respect for international law and human rights of Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank.”
  • In March 2020, Breaking the Silence alleged, “Israeli officials are now actively promoting an apartheid reality which itself blurs the lines, and our position [of not participating in ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ events on campus] may therefore have to change in the future accordingly.”
• In 2021-2023, Gisha received DKK 1.9 million [information via Freedom of Information request; on file with NGO Monitor] via UNDP under the “Human Rights and Democratic Accountability” project.
  • Gisha employs “apartheid” rhetoric and vocabulary based on international law and human rights to promote a partisan political and ideological agenda.
  • In May 2023, Gisha was a signatory on a statement blaming Israel for the death of Khader Adnan following his 86-day-long hunger strike and refusal to receive medical treatment from the Israeli Prisons Service. According to the statement, “Israel’s unjust system of arrests and detention are part and parcel of the policies used by Israel to maintain its occupation and apartheid regime.”
    • The statement ignored that Adnan was a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad member arrested in February 2023 and was indicted for membership in a terror group, supporting a terrorist organization, and incitement.
  • In January 2021, Gisha published an article titled “Naming the reality,” writing that the “word apartheid evokes revulsion, as it should. There are undoubtedly differences between the apartheid regime in South Africa and Israel, but the thread that connects them is undeniable.”
• In 2021-2023, the Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI) received DKK 2.1 million  [information via Freedom of Information request; on file with NGO Monitor] via UNDP under the “Human Rights and Democratic Accountability” project.
  • Regularly circulates unverifiable allegations of Israeli torture, using them as the basis for campaigns in international forums and Israeli courts.
  • In December 2023, FIDH, on behalf of its members including PCATI, published a resolution accusing Israel of the “ unfolding crime of genocide and other crimes in Gaza and against the Palestinian People.” (Read NGO Monitor’s analysis, “FIDH Declares Total Political War Against Israel.”)
  • In June 2023, PCATI, alongside 16 Israeli NGOs, published a joint report titled “State of the Occupation – Year 56: A Joint Situation Report” alleging that “that after 56 years of occupation, Israel’s actions in the West Bank today meet the criteria of apartheid.” According to the report, “The current government’s steps, motivated by its stated Jewish supremacy ideology, will also deepen the apartheid regime governing nearly all aspects of oPt Palestinians’ lives.”

DANIDA Funding to NGOs Active in the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Amounts in DKK)

Indirect Funding

• DanChurchAid (DCA) (Folkekirkens Nødhjælp)
• In 2024, Denmark provided DanChurchAid with DKK 16.5 million for the “Strategic Partnership” program in the West Bank and Gaza. 
• DCA runs a Joint Country Program in Palestine with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA).
• In 2023, DCA/NCA maintained 17 local partners with 29 active projects in “Palestine” with a budget of €4.7 million (DKK 35.2 million).
• In May 2024, DanChurchAid published a statement alleging, “As the main weapon provider for Israel’s military effort, the United States bears a significant responsibility for Israel’s IHL violations. In addition to halting the transfer of high payload bombs, the US should also use all its leverage to halt the ongoing military operation in Rafah. In fact, all suppliers of arms have to respect the Human Rights Council resolution voted on April 5 calling on them to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.”
• DanChurchAid (DCA) partners with some of the most politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict, including  BADIL, Breaking the Silence, B’Tselem, Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC), Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ), Maan Development Center, Palestinian Working Women’s Society for Development (PWWSD), Grassroots Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement, Women’s Affairs Center (WAC), and Youth Empowerment Center (YEC). (See table below for further funding information.)
  • On May 30, 2017, DanChurchAid posted a response to criticism against its partnerships with organizations and individuals with alleged ties to terrorism and that promote antisemitism.

DanChurchAid support for Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).

• DCA “in cooperation with the Danish Council of Churches and the Inter-Religious Council, sends volunteers to the West Bank” with Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).
  • EAPPI activists consistently demonize Israel, making accusations of “apartheid,” “war crimes,” and “Bantustans.” The NGO also calls the security barrier, which has saved countless lives from suicide bombings, “evil.”
  • Upon returning to their home countries, many EAPPI activists use their experience in the West Bank to promote anti-Israel campaigns, including promoting BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions).
  • In 2021-2023, DanChurchAid granted EAPPI DKK 250,000.

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

• Denmark provided DKK 17 million in 2021-2025 to NRC for “Resilience, Peace and Stability” in Gaza and the West Bank.
• NRC has been one of the leading international campaigners against donor-imposed anti-terror vetting regulations. NRC lobbies to reduce anti-terror vetting standards, as well as to develop mechanisms to circumvent them. For more information see NGO Monitors report “Norwegian Refugee Council’s Campaign to Weaken and Circumvent US Anti-terror Policy.”
• NRC is a key implementer of cash assistance coordinated by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) and acknowledges this cooperation with MoSD: “NRC fosters strong partnerships with national and local authorities, particularly with the MoSD in Gaza and the West Bank, ensuring targeted assistance through the Gaza Protection Consortium’s cash programming.” (Read NGO Monitor’s report on “Hamas Influences UK Funded Gaza Cash Programme.”)
• NRC leads massive and unprecedented political campaigns exploiting the Israeli legal system. In sharp contrast to NRC’s ostensibly humanitarian agenda, this massive program focuses on some of the most complex and sensitive political issues in the Arab-Israeli context. (Read NGO Monitor’s report “Flooding the Courts: The Norwegian Refugee Council’s European-Funded Proxy War.”)
• One of NRC’s principle projects in Israel, “Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA),” exploits judicial frameworks to manipulate Israeli policy, bypassing democratic frameworks.
  • As part of the ICLA program, NRC provides “legal assistance, including paralegal services, accompaniment, follow up or court representation in order to ensure the best possible individual legal protection outcomes” in “collaboration, coordination and partnership both internally within NRC and externally with NGO sector… and with the PA with a view to address some of the barriers to participation of the hard to reach population in ICLA response.” Through its Palestinian and Israeli partner NGOs and private lawyers, the ICLA program submits between 500-800 new cases to Israeli courts per year.

Oxfam

• In 2024, Denmark provided $975,016 (DKK 5.4 million) to Oxfam.
• 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.
• In November 2023, Oxfam Novib, alongside Amnesty International, PAX, and the Rights Forum, announced they were suing the Netherlands for “continuing to export arms to Israel.” The lawsuit demanded “the immediate cessation of the supply of parts for Israeli F35 fighter planes.” 
• In March 2024,  Oxfam Denmark, Amnesty International Denmark, ActionAid Denmark, and Al-Haq announced they were suing the Danish National Police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an attempt to stop Danish arms exports to Israel. The case was dismissed in April 2025, with the court ruling that the NGOs did not have legal standing.
• In November 2022, Oxfam participated in an olive harvest organized by the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC).
  • 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 designated terrorist organization by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel. According to academic scholar Glenn E. Robinson, UAWC was founded in 1986 by “agronomists loosely affiliated with the PFLP.” 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’.”

DanWatch

• In 2020-2022, Danida granted DKK 4 million to Danwatch for “independent journalistic coverage of rights violations and abuses in developing countries.”
• DanWatch describes itself as an “independent media and research centre specialized in investigative journalism on global issues.” However, the organization leverages this allegedly “independent” position to politically attack Israel.
• In March 2024, DanWatch published a report alleging that “Israeli F-35 fighter jets with Danish military equipment are playing a central role in the massive bombings.” DanWatch claimed that it “shared the documentation…to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice and asked whether the information will cause Danish authorities to reconsider whether it is in accordance with international law to continue the export to the F-35 program.”
• As part of the BDS campaign against Israel, DanWatch targets Israeli and European corporations, such as Ahava, G4S, Integrated Service Solutions (ISS), Israeli agricultural products, and tour operators under the guise of “business ethics.”
• According to DanWatch, a “DanWatch-investigation” led to Danish pension fund, Sampension, to divest from four publicly traded Israeli companies.
• In contrast to DanWatch’s claim of being an “independent media and research centre,” publications regarding Israel are commissioned by organizations with a history of anti-Israel activities (i.e. DanChurchAid – see above).
• DanWatch’s “independent media and research” is based on unreliable, biased, and politicized NGOs including Who Profits, Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD), and Al-Haq, as well as “legal opinions” of Richard Falk, the highly controversial former United Nations Special Rapporteur.“

United Nations Funding

UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)

• Denmark is providing DKK 145 million in 2022-2026 to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FOA) program in Gaza and the West Bank.
• According to FAO, implementing partners include 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’.”
  • Samer Arbid, UAWC’s accountant from 2016until his arrest in 2019, was indicted on 21 counts in Israeli military court. According to Israeli security officials, he commanded a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror cell that carried out a bombing against Israeli civilians, murdering 17-year old Rina Shnerb, and injuring her father and brother. According to the Israel Security Agency (Shabak), Arbid prepared and detonated the explosive device.

World Food Programme

• In 2024, Denmark provided $13.7 million to the WFP for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.
• According to documents published by the UN-coordinated Food Security Cluster (FSC), the sector distributes funds and partners with NGOs, including PFLP-linked Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), Ma’an Development Center, and Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC).
• In February 2024, the Food Security Cluster (FSC) provided details on its $445 million “Operational plan for the Gaza 30-Day Ceasefire,” targeting “2.2 million people through various response modalities, including Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), in-kind distribution, blanket distribution, and parcels.” UAWC – which was designated as a terrorist entity by Israel in October 2021 – is listed as one of the “participating organizations in this effort.”

UNICEF

• In 2023-2024, Denmark provided DKK 30,000,000 ($4.2 million) to “UNICEF’s activities in Palestine responding to the humanitarian needs described in the UN flash appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) 2023.”
• In 2024-2025, Denmark provided $4,499,775 to “UNICEF’s humanitarian response in the occupied territory of Palestine.”
• UNICEF coordinates an NGO “working group” that includes terror-linked and terror supporting NGO members.  Though UNICEF has reduced transparency in recent years, known members have included PCHR, Al Mezan, and Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P).  (For more information on UNICEF’s NGO “working group,” see NGO Monitor’s report, “Terror-linked and anti-Israel NGOs Exploit Children in Campaign to Blacklist the IDF.”)
  • In October 2021, Israel designated DCI-P as a terrorist entity, due to its ties to the PFLP.

DanChurch Funding to NGOs (amounts in Danish kroner (DKK) unless specified)

Information taken from DanChurchAid’s 2021 Project Overview. Amounts in NIS are based off information submitted to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits.