NGO-Terror Links Case Study: EU Funding to UAWC in 2011-2017
Overview
In 2011-2017, the EU provided €18.3 million to projects involving Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a non-governmental organization (NGO) linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).1 It appears that €12.1 million went to projects where UAWC was the only implementer.
Two UAWC employees, who worked with the organization’s finances, were arrested in 2019 and are currently standing trial for being part of a PFLP terror cell that perpetrated the August 2019 murder of a 17-year-old Israeli.
- Samer Arbid: UAWC’s accountant and previously UAWC “financial officer.” Arbid is on trial for commanding the PFLP terror cell that carried out the bombing, murdering the teenager, and injuring her father and brother. According to the indictment against him (on file), Arbid prepared and detonated the explosive device.
- Abdel Razeq Farraj: UAWC’s “Finance and Administration Director.” According to his indictment (on file), Razeq Farraj held a senior PFLP post and authorized the August 2019 bombing. He is currently standing trial.
EU Funding to UAWC
EU Financial Transparency System (FTS) reports that from 2012 – 2014, the EU provided €12.1 million to UAWC for five projects where UAWC is listed as the sole implementing partner:
| Project Title | EU funding Instrument | Amount | Project Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juthoor: Land, Water, and Human Resource Development in Vulnerable Areas of the West Bank | European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) | €3.6 million | January 2015-April 2017* |
| Moving herders from aid dependence to self-sustaining growth through livestock husbandry development and market expansion | Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) | €1.9 million | October 2013-October 2015* |
| Making olive oil competitive through the introduction of local value chain approach in the oPt | Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) | €609,895 | January 2013-June 2015* |
| Moving herders from aid dependence to self-sustaining growth through livestock husbandry development and market expansion | Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) | €3.5 million | October 2013- September 2015 |
| Making olive oil competitive through the introduction of local value chain approach in the oPt | Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) | €2.48 million | February 2013- July 2015 |
* Dates provided by the EU to NGO Monitor in response to a FOI query (on file).
In addition to FTS, a document, “The European Union programme in support of agriculture and livestock based livelihoods in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” indicates that UAWC was a partner of several EU funded projects with other groups. For example:
- In 2013-2016, the EU provided 80% of a €1.87 million project titled “Food security governance of Bedouin pastoralist groups in the Mashreq” and implemented by Oxfam Italia. UAWC was listed as one out of six “project partners.”
- In 2011-2014, the EU provided 80% of a €2.9 million project titled “Enhancement of food security in Taybeh and Ramoun through rural development and agricultural extension” and implemented by Palestinian Wastewater Engineers Group (PWEG). UAWC was listed as one out of two “project partners.”
- In 2011-2014, the EU provided 80% of a €3 million project titled “Making wastewater an asset: increasing agricultural production by introducing irrigation from non-conventional water sources” and implemented by an Italian NGO, Gruppo di Volontariato Civile (GVC). UAWC was listed as one out of two “project partners.”
Footnotes
- 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.”
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Union of Agricultural Work Committees' Ties to the PFLP Terror Group
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