Activity

• The Norwegian government, via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), provides tens of millions of kroner (NOK) through direct and indirect funding processes to politicized NGOs operating in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
• According to Norway’s 2023-2024 proposed foreign aid budget, “Norwegian aid to Palestine does not go to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, nor to organizations with the main purpose of promoting the BDS campaign (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).” Yet, many Norwegian-funded NGOs are active in BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns and promote anti-peace narratives and “lawfare” campaigns at the ICC. Some groups have also used antisemitic rhetoric and have apparent links to terror organizations.

Transparency

• The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs grant portal provides limited information on ongoing and new projects for the current year.
• According to the new aid portal of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Due to anonymization of sensitive information, the portal may not show the correct information for individual partners.”
• Previously funded and completed project information can be downloaded from the “Access to microdata” of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

Direct Funding to Israeli/Palestinian Political NGOs

• In 2024, the Norwegian government committed more than NOK 267 million (≈$26 million) to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict. 
• A number of the NGO grantees are linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – a designated terrorist organization by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel.  In contrast to other funders, there is no indication that Norway has ended or suspended support for these NGOs.

Funding to Palestinian NGOs

• In 2022-2025, Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) received NOK 7 million from Norway.
  • According to a 1995 article in the Washington Report, Raji Sourani, founder and director of PCHR, served “a three-year sentence [1979-1982] imposed by an Israeli court which convicted him of membership in the illegal Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine…” He was also denied a US entry visa in 2012.
  • In February 2014, the PFLP organized a ceremony in Gaza honoring Sourani for winning the “Alternative Noble (sic) Prize.”
  • On October 7, 2023, PCHR Fundraising and Program Officer Feda’a Murjan posted on Facebook, “We will truly step in our land. Allah, you are our protector and supporter.”
  • On May 13, 2023, in the context of the May 2023 conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), PCHR published a statement in which it  “affirms the right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation by all available means, including armed struggle, all the way to achieve their legitimate rights, end the occupation and establish their independent state” (emphasis added). 
    • Following pressure from European donors, PCHR altered the text to read: “to resist the occupation by all legitimate means in accordance with international law.”
• In 2023-2025, Al-Haq received NOK 7 million from Norway.
  • 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’.”
  • General Director Shawan Jabarin is allegedly linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terrorist organization by the U.S., EU, and Canada. Click here to read NGO Monitor’s unofficial translation of the decision by the Israeli High Court of Justice.
  • 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 2024-2028, Norway is providing NOK 4.9 million to Redd Barna Norge (Save the Children Norway) to a project with PalVision as an implementing partner. 
  • Many of PalVision’s board members, officials, and employees have justified and glorified violence against Israeli civilians and praised individual terrorists and terrorist attacks.
• In 2019-2023, Norway provided NOK 48.6 million to Redd Barna Norge (Save the Children) for a project with Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P), Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution (PCDCR), and Ma’an News Agency.
  • Numerous individuals with alleged ties to the PFLP have been employed and appointed as board members at DCI-P. On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P) a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.” For more information on DCI-P’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Defense for Children International – Palestine’s Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.” 
  • In October 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, DCI-P Advocacy Officer Miranda Cleland tweeted, “It is beyond insulting and blatantly racist to assume Palestinians resisting Israeli colonization & trying to take back their land will result in anti-Semitic attacks in DC. What a joke” (emphasis added). Cleland shared a statement by the Mayor of DC condemning the Hamas attacks and committing to protect the Jewish community in DC.
• In 2022-2025, Ma’an Development Center received NOK 19.5 million from Norway.
  • In October 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, Ma’an Development Center was a signatory on a statement calling to “emphasize that the root causes of these events is the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel.”
  • In May 2018, Ma’an Development Center employee Ahmad Abdallah Aladini was killed in the violence 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 June 2018, Hamza Zbeldat, Ma’an Field Coordinator in Ramallah, mourned the loss of a PFLP member, describing him as “my master” and as a person who “taught me.”
• In 2022-2024, Miftah received NOK 7.9 million from Norway.
  • Utilizes anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric. Describes terror groups as “resistance fighters” and accuses Israel of perpetrating “massacres,” “cultural genocide,” and “war crimes.”
  • On February 10, 2025, MIFTAH falsely accused Israel of committing a “reproductive genocide against Palestinians,” alleging that it is “a practice that has been used since the Nakba” (meaning, since Israel gained independence in 1948). 
  • In October 2024, MIFTAH falsely accused Israel of deploying “sexual violence as a weapon of genocide.”
  • On October 27, 2023, in an interview for Democracy Now!, founder and chair of MIFTAH’s Board of Directors Hanan Ashrawi denied Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, calling accusations of massacres, rape, and beheading of children “nonsense.”
  • In March 2013, published an article written by Nawaf al-Zaru that repeated the antisemitic blood libel that Jews use Christian blood to bake Passover matzah.  After significant public criticism, MIFTAH removed the article, but attacked the blogger who exposed the article for “smearing” the organization and downplayed the centrality of the blood libel in the article. 
• In 2023-2025, Norway granted NOK 10.5 million to the Independent Commission of Human Rights (ICHR).
  • 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 2024-2027, Norway granted NOK 5.7 million to the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC).
  • JLAC rhetoric includes accusations of “collective punishment,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “apartheid,” as well as supporting a Palestinian “right of return.”
  • In October 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, JLAC was a signatory on a statement calling to “emphasize that the root causes of these events is the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel.”
  • In October 2023, JLAC was a signatory on a letter to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to “Issue Arrest Warrants, Investigate Israeli Crimes and Intervene to Deter Incitement to Commit Genocide in Gaza.”
• In 2023-2025, Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC) received NOK 7.8 million.
  • Accused Israeli forces of “resorting to extra-judicial killing, mass intimidation and collective punishment in order to maintain their grip on Palestinian territory in violation of basic international norms.”
  • Supports BDS initiatives through participation in activities and events, signing of petitions and initiatives, and membership in BDS platforms.

Funding to Israeli NGOs

According to information submitted by Israeli NGOs to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits, the Embassy allocated NIS 5.9 million to Israeli NGOs in 2023-2024. According to the Norwegian MFA Grants Portal funding to Israeli NGOs is Categorized as “Middle East Regional.”

• 7amleh (NOK 7.7 million in 2020-2024)
  • Since 2016, 7amleh has campaigned against Facebook’s, Twitter’s, and Instagram’s policies of taking down posts featuring incitement to violence, support for terror, and antisemitism, arguing that social media platforms “all too often lead to the silencing and erasure of critical voices,” “censor[ing] Palestinian voices,” and attacking “free speech.”
  • 7amleh board members and officials have used Facebook to celebrate violence against Israelis. 
  • In October 2023,  in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, 7amleh board member Neveen Abu Rahmoun  posted on Facebook, “The Palestinian resistance is imposing a new stage since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa flood operation by resistance fighters infiltrating into numerous Israeli neighborhoods in the settlements, by creating points of contact, and by firing rockets of the resistance.” 
• Ir Amim  (NOK 7.8 million 2024-2027)
  • Ir Amim’s activities consistently promote a one-sided Palestinian narrative, accusing Israel of the “Judaization” of Jerusalem, and alleging without evidence that the security barrier’s supposedly “demographic rationale therefore outweighs its security rationale.”
  • In June 2024, following the ICC Prosecutor’s announcement that he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Ir Amim published a joint report claiming, “The requested warrants against Netanyahu and Galant enumerate the crimes of starvation, extermination and deliberate attacks against civilian population.”
• B’Tselem (NOK 618,000 in 2024) (NOK 900,000 in 2023)
  • Actively pursues its political agenda in the Israeli courts and the Knesset.
  • B’Tselem is a leader in the network of NGOs that promote artificial and manufactured definitions of apartheid to extend the ongoing campaigns that seek to delegitimize and demonize Israel. (Read NGO Monitor’s Policy Paper “False Knowledge as Power: Deconstructing Definitions of Apartheid that Delegitimise the Jewish State”)
  • 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 October 2024, B’Tselem called to “stop the ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza.” 
• Gisha (NOK 1.2 million in 2023) and (NOK 1.2 million in 2022)
  • Gisha employs “apartheid” other international legal rhetoric to promote a partisan political and ideological agenda.
  • 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.”
• Yesh Din (NOK 1 million in 2023) and (NOK 1 million in 2022)  
  • Yesh Din is central to the allegations that Israeli investigative and court systems are unable or unwilling to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and is part of a wider “lawfare” strategy of pressing “war crimes” cases against Israeli officials in foreign courts and in the International Criminal Court (ICC). These campaigns use faulty information and skewed statistics to promote their political claims.
  • In June 2023, Yesh Din, 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.” 

Indirect Funding

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been active in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza since 2009 and has offices in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, and Gaza. The organization employs 12 international staff and 106 national staff.

• In 2020-2023, NRC received NOK 132.2 million  for its “Humanitarian Response in Palestine.” NRC received an additional NOK 35.1 million for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. 
• In 2024-2027, NRC is receiving NOK 5.7 million for projects in Gaza and the West Bank.
• 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.”)
• ICLA, one of NRC’s principle projects in Israel, exploits judicial frameworks to manipulate Israeli policy, bypassing democratic frameworks.
• Included in ICLA’s program goals is “supporting the PA both locally and nationally on casework” and works with “other NRC core competences, West Bank Protection Consortium partners, and UN OCHA, as well as with local authorities and village councils.”
• 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.”
• A lawyer affiliated with the NRC program stated that the objective of these cases are 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).
• According to its 2023 ICLA project response plan, “In 2023, NRC Information, Counselling and Legal aid team (ICLA) will target 17,583 Palestinians identified as affected by conflict-related violations and protection risks such as conflict-related violence, risk of forcible transfer, restrictions on freedom of movement and access to services, including livelihoods and settler violence.”
• Based on research obtained via freedom of information requests, UN reports and funding databases (FTS), publications from governments in Europe, NGO activity reports and financial statements, and filings with government regulators in the UK, Israel, the EU, and elsewhere, NGO Monitor has documented that  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. NRC has partnered with UAWC, 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), and Al Mezan, among others. In May 2018, NRC participated in a legal workshop held by the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) about the “Israeli occupation’s policies for thirty-five farmers from the Middle and South Valley areas.” The workshop was funded by the German foreign office through IFA, and with the cooperation of Medico International.
  • 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.”)

Norwegian People’s Aid-NPA (Norsk Folkehjelp)

• In 2020-2024, NPA received NOK 65.5 million from Norway for “Civil Society influence for reduced inequality in Palestine” in partnership 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. UAWC is also highly active in promoting BDS campaigns and utilizing inflammatory rhetoric. For more information on UAWC’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Union of Agricultural Work Committees Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
• Played a central role in lobbying the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) to divest from Israeli companies “involved in building activities in the illegal settlements,” promoting distorted factual and legal claims.
• In April 2018, the US Department of Justice fined NPA $11 million for civil fraud. NPA was charged with violating the US False Claims Act for providing material support to Iran and Palestinian terror groups, Hamas, the PFLP, and the DFLP. According to Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman:  “For years, Norwegian People’s Aid obtained grant money from USAID by falsely representing that it had not provided, and would take reasonable steps to ensure that it did not knowingly provide, material support to prohibited parties under U.S. law.”
• In September 2019, NPA, alongside the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC), organized a conference with the PFLP’s Kaid Al-Ghul who spoke about “his experience in political work since joining the Arab nationalist movement in 1967 when he was 17 years old, during which he was active in the vanguard of popular resistance.” 

Norwegian Church Aid-NCA (Kirkens Nødhjelp)

• In 2020-2024, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) received NOK 42.9 million for the “Palestinian territories.” 
• In 2020-2024, NCA received an “Additional funding for GAZA” of NOK 15 million.
• In 2020-2024, the Norwegian government committed NOK 11.5 million to EAPPI via NCA.
  • Founded by the World Council of Churches, EAPPI sends volunteers to the West Bank to “witness life under occupation.” Upon completion of the program, the volunteers return to their home countries and churches where many engage in anti-Israel advocacy, including advocating for BDS campaigns in churches, comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany, and other delegitimization strategies.
  • EAPPI volunteers have used inflammatory, demonizing, and antisemitic rhetoric against Israel.
• In 2020-2024, the Norwegian government committed NOK 40.1 million to DanChurchAid via NCA.
  • DanChurchAid has provided funding to a number of highly biased and politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israel conflict. Some of DanChurchAid’s partners and grantees promote BDS (boycotts, divestments and sanctions) and lawfare campaigns, false “war crimes” allegations, and even antisemitic propaganda.

KFUK-KFUM Global

• In 2024-2027, KFUK-KFUM received NOK 3.05 million from Norway for projects in Gaza and the West Bank. 
• Calls for “a broad economic boycott to get Israel to end the occupation.”
• Supports the Kairos Palestine document, which characterizes terrorist acts of “armed resistance” as “Palestinian legal resistance,” denies the Jewish historical connection to Israel in theological terms, and calls to mobilize churches worldwide.
• Partners with EAPPI (see above).

Direct Norwegian Funding to NGOs Active in the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Israeli NGO amounts based on quarterly financial reports submitted to the Israeli Registrar of Non-Profits. Palestinian NGO amounts based on the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs grant portal. Amounts in NIS unless noted.