Analysis of grants to Palestinian and international organizations operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2022 highlights the EU’s continued funding for NGOs linked to the EU-designated terrorist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and/or that glorify violence.

Additionally, the EU funded NGOs that delegitimize Israel, accuse it of “apartheid,” campaign to discredit the IHRA working definition on antisemitism, and promote discriminatory BDS campaigns.  In particular, the EU is a major supporter of UN agencies and associated NGOs that lead a concerted effort to generate international sanctions against the IDF.

This report analyzes 17 grants, totaling approximately €18.7 million.

As noted in this report, many/most of the grantees have been supported by the EU for a number of years, under different project titles and objectives and provide input to EU policy makers.

This funding contrasts directly with repeated EU statements and policy declarations that, ostensibly, deny funding to terror-linked groups, and to those advancing hate-speech and antisemitism. For example:

  • A June 2020 letter from the Office of the President of the European Commission to NGO Monitor states, “[EU] rules make the participation of entities, individuals or groups affiliated linked or supporting terrorist organisations incompatible with any EU funding.”
  • Similarly, a June 2020 letter from Josep Borrell, Vice President of the European Commission to a number of MEPs reaffirms that “specific clauses have been introduced in individual grant agreements, obliging every beneficiary managing EU funds to refrain from engaging in incitement to violence or hatred. These rules make the participation of entities, individuals or groups affiliated, linked to or supporting terrorist organisations incompatible with any EU funding.”
  • In May 2023, the European Parliament adopted a budgetary resolution calling on the European Commission to create a “public blacklist of NGOs, excluded from access to EU funds and institutions” if they “engaged in activities such as hate speech, incitement to terrorism, religious extremism or misused EU funds.”
  • In 2019, the European Commission introduced an additional anti-terror regulation in its contracts with NGOs.
  • In January 2021, the EC published a Handbook for the practical use of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, urging institutions to “ensure that funding does not go to entities and projects that promote antisemitism or other forms of hate.”

List of NGO Grantees examined in this report includes: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Aisha Association for Women and Child Protection (Aisha), Abdel Shafi Community Health Association (ACHA), 7amleh, Sharek Youth Forum, Independent Youth Union, Holy Land Trust, The Center for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights Association (Hurryyat), Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON), Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC), and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

EU Grantees Linked to the PFLP and/or That Glorify Violence

 

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)

Project: Promoting and Protecting Human Rights for Women, Men, Girls and Boys With and Without Disabilities Victims/Survivors of Human Rights Violations in the Gaza Strip1

Amount: €475,000

Duration: 01/01/2023-31/12/2024

Previous EU grants since 2010:

Grant: “Promoting improved respect, protection and fulfilment of the right to the highest attainable standard of health in the gaza strip”; €320,187/2018-2021.

Grant: “Strengthening human rights and access to information in the Gaza Strip”; €411,8612014-2016.

PCHR’s PFLP ties

PCHR has numerous links to the PFLP, and its general director, Raji Sourani, has been publicly honored by the terrorist organization.  Notably, PCHR board member Jaber Wishah is a former commander of the PFLP’s Gaza operations.

(For more information, read NGO Monitor’s “Palestinian Centre for Human Right’s Links to the PFLP Terror Group”.)

Glorification of violence

PCHR and its officials have frequently justified violence targeting Israeli civilians.

During the May 2023 Gaza conflict, PCHR published a statement in which it “affirms the Palestinian people to resist the occupation by all available means, including armed struggle….” After criticism, and under pressure from donors – including the EU – this text was amended.

Similarly, during the conflict, PCHR board member Nadia Abu Nahla referred to Israel as the “Nazi criminal occupation,” adding “May the resistance [a euphemism for Palestinian terrorist organizations] have victory.”

Following a January 26, 2023 IDF operation in Jenin, in which 10 Palestinians – mostly armed members of terrorist organizations – were killed in a gun battle, Abu Nahla wrote, “Oh, he who guides the blood vengeances, may you guide our blood vengeance.”

(For more information see NGO Monitor’s report, “PCHR Board Members Call for Violence Against Israelis.”)

Aisha Association for Women and Child Protection (Aisha), Abdel Shafi Community Health Association (ACHA)

Project: Promoting Respect and Protection for the Right to Mental Health for Women and Adolescent Children with and Without Disabilities Affected by Conflict and At-Risk of Violence and Human Rights Violations in the Gaza Strip.

Amount: €490,000

Duration: 01/02/2023-31/01/2026

Previous EU grants since 2010:

Aisha- One out of five implementing NGO partners of a €3.35 million grant: “Building Economic Resilience For Gaza”; 2021-2025.

ACHA– One out of three implementing NGO partners of a €648,000 grant: “Protection and respect of the rights of vulnerable women and girls with and without disabilities survivors of GVB in the Gaza strip”; 2020-2023.

Aisha board members’ PFLP ties

Members of Aisha’s board of directors, Taghreed Jomaa and Elias al-Jelda, have served as PFLP Central Committee members.

Taghreed Jomaa – In May 2021, Jomaa was elected to head Aisha’s board of directors.2

(For more information on Taghreed Jomaa’s PFLP ties, see NGO Monitor’s report, “Clear and Convincing: The Links between the PFLP and the European Government-funded NGO Network.”)

Elias al-Jelda – In May 2021, Elias Al-Jelda was elected treasurer of Aisha’s board of directors.3

Al-Jelda (circled in red), participating in the PFLP’s 20th anniversary of the death of PFLP Secretary-General Abu Ali Mustafa.

ACHA’s ties to the PFLP

The second implementing partner on this project– the Abdel Shafi Community Health Association (ACHA), formerly known as the Red Crescent Society for the Gaza Strip (RCS4GS) — was founded and is directed by senior members of the PFLP. Several ACHA employees have demonstrated support for Palestinian terror groups. On multiple occasions, ACHA facilities, were used by the PFLP to hold formal events.

(For more information, see NGO Monitor’s report, “Abdel Shafi Community Health Association’s Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”)

7amleh

7amleh (pronounced “Hamleh”) is a Haifa-based organization that claims to advance Palestinian “digital-rights.”  Although the EU does not identify 7amleh as a grantee on its financials transparency system (FTS), according to 7amleh’s May 2023 filing with the EU Transparency Registrar, the EU provided the NGO with €190,000 in 2022.

7amleh is the founding member of The Palestinian Digital Rights Coalition, which claims to “strengthen the coordination, cooperation and mutual aid between Palestinian civil society institutions operating in the field of protecting and strengthening Palestinian digital rights.” The coalition includes PFLP-linked organizations such as  Al-Haq, Addameer, and Al Mezan.

7amleh on “incitement” and support for Palestinian terrorists

  • In 2021, 7amleh criticized Israel’s definition of incitement that includes speech that “expresses support for terrorist acts,” writing that “The broad definition of incitement has historically intimidated many Palestinian users into silence.”
  • In May 2021, 7amleh criticizedZoom’s cancellation of an online event in which San Francisco State University planned to host terrorist Leila Khaled, stating that, “It was revealed that the platform [Zoom] discriminates against Palestinian men and women.” 7amleh referred to Khaled as “a well known Palestinian political figure,” erasing her terrorist affiliation.

7amleh board members supporting Palestinian terrorists or glorifying violence

Ahmad Qadi – 7amleh’s “Monitoring and Documentation officer” since July 2021 (on file with NGO Monitor) and as of February 2023

  • On January 4, 2015, Qadi shared pictures from the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre, in which Palestinian terrorists murdered five Israelis. Qadi wrote, “I have been wishing for pictures like these for a while, and I still wonder – of what these men are made of?! #deeply_exciting.” Qadi also commented, “Heroes,” “Men of Palestine,” “Congratulations and mercy for all the resistance fighters and martyrs. Our loyalty is to whomever resists and to all who defend the honor of the Palestinian people and its nation…”

Neveen Abu Rahmoun –  has held a seat on 7amleh’s board of directors at least since 2019 and as of May 2023

  • On July 12, 2021,Abu Rahmoun shared a picture of Khalida Jarrar calling for her release and referring to her as “The commander fighter…revolutionary leader…who was imprisoned over her national political activity.”
  • On March 6, 2017,Abu Rahmoun shared a poster featuring Basel Al-A’raj referring to him as “the martyr commando fighter…who rose to heaven during an armed confrontation with the occupation…” Abu Rahmoun wrote, “#Basel_Al-A’raj is an idea and an idea cannot end. Basel was the intellectual resistance fighter, he was arrested and harassed in the Oslo prisons…because he resisted the occupation culturally and ideologically, and the brave man was martyred [when resisting] militarily.”
  • On December 21, 2015,Abu Rahmoun shared a poster featuring Samir Kuntar, which reads, “The martyr, Jihad fighter, Samir Kuntar: ‘I have returned from Palestine only to return to Palestine.’”

7amleh also partners with NGOs linked to the PFLP. This includes Addameer, and Al-Haq, which jointly co-founded the Palestinian Digital Rights Coalition alongside 7amleh, and other NGOs.

Sharek Youth Forum

Project: ENTRECOMP4YOUTH – Improve the Resilience of Jordanian and Palestinian Youth By Implementing the Entrecomp Framework in Youth Work Organisations4

Amount: Sharek is receiving €54,454 out of the €288,000 granted to all of the partners

Duration: 01/01/2023-31/12/2025

Previous EU grants since 2010:

Grant: “Youth Empowerment Programme TAMAYYAZE”; €2 million; 2021-2024

Grant: “Seeds of expression bringing European and Palestinian cultures together through theatre and street art encounters”; €133,630; 2018-2019

Grant: “Step Forward- Young women’s economic empowerment”; €132,201; 2013-2014

Sharek board members glorifying violence and praising members of terrorist organizations

Jawad Assi Elected to Sharek’s board in July 2021

On January 26, 2023, Jawad Assi mourned the death of a member of the EU-designated terrorist organization Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, who was killed in a gunbattle with Israeli forces in Jenin: “The martyr hero Izz a-Din Salahat, the son of the steadfast Jenin camp. Our warm condolences for the martyr’s family. May Allah have mercy on him and make his final resting place in heaven. Surely, we belong to Allah and verily to him do we return.”

Bader Zamareh – Sharek’s executive director (as of January 2023). He has served in this role since 2004.

On March 11, 2016, Zamareh shared a newspaper account of the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, in which  38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, were murdered by Palestinian terrorists.  Zamareh commented, “The morning of the honorable date.”

Referring to a string of terrorist attacks on February 14, 2016, Zamareh wrote, “5 martyrs today, 5 children that the occupation executed.”

On October 5, 2015, Zamareh shared a poster featuring three Palestinian terrorists, referring to them as “martyrs.”

Kifah Abo Srour – On July 15, 2021, Kifah Abo Srour was elected Secretary of Sharek’s board of directors, and held that position as of December 2022. Previously, since 2003 and at least through September 2019, Abo Srour headed Sharek.

On December 8, 2022, following a firefight between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians in Jenin, Abu Srour wrote, “Martyrdom in Allah’s and the nation’s cause is not just a destiny, but it is eternal life in glorious death. May Allah have mercy on those who departed us and left in our hearts sorrow.”

Fatma Ashour – On July 15, 2021, Fatima Ashour was elected to Sharek’s board of directors. Ashour also held a seat on the board in 2020, and was Sharek’s “Legal Unit coordinator” in 2016.

  • On October 20, 2022, after Udai Tamimi opened fire at Israeli civilian security guards, who returned fire and killed him, Ashour wrote, “…the video of the killing of resistance fighter Udai Tamimi while he is facing a barrage of direct gunfire… This video demonstrates how much the occupation is a coward and is afraid of the resistance fighters…Oh Allah, the strength of the Palestinian resistance fighter when facing death with bravery that has no equivalent must be learned. May Allah have mercy on our martyrs, comfort their family and send them a good remedy…”
  • On August 9, 2022, Ashour shared pictures of Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, and wrote, “Oh Allah, oh Allah, what grief over the murder [of Al-Nabulsi], oh Allah, what a morning…Oh Lord, may you leave none of them [presumably the Israelis].”
    • Al-Nabulsi was a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and part of a cell that carried out multiple shooting attacks against Israelis.  He was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces in August 2022.

Ashour shared pictures of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades’ senior terrorist Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi and mourned him.

  • On March 17, 2019, Ashour wrote, “Any resistance operation that is directed against the Israeli occupation army is welcomed. The international law guarantees the right to carry out resistance against the occupation and to self-determination as all the peoples of the world. #Salfit #He_retreated_in_safely.”

Independent Youth Union5

Project: 101049518 – E-MPACT: Youth for Inclusive E-Ducation6

Amount: €30,093 to IYU out of €400,000 for the total project

Duration: 01/03/2022-28/02/2025

IYU glorification of Palestinian terrorists

On December 13, 2018, IYU shared pictures of Saleh Al-Barghouti, Ashraf Na’alwa, and Majd Mtair and wrote, “Glory to the heroes, glory to the martyrs of the nation. You have freedom and in your hand is the weapon of revolution.”

On December 13, 2018, IYU shared an official statement by the Palestinian Democratic Union party (FIDA), according to which, “FIDA calls to…escalate all forms of popular resistance and confrontation with the occupation forces and the herds of settlers…and go down to the fields and especially the points of contact with occupation forces and friction areas with settlers…and confront occupation soldiers and the herds of its settlers…the Palestinian Democratic Union ‘FIDA’ bows in admiration and respect to the martyrs’ spirits who rose to heaven on the path of liberation of Palestine, its full independence and for the [right of] return. The martyrs are Ashraf Na’alwa, Saleh Al-Baraghouti, Majd Mtair and Hamdan Al-Ardah…”

  • According to the IDF spokesperson, on December 13, 2018, Hamdan Al-Ardah rammed Israeli soldiers with his vehicle, lightly injuring one of them.

EU funding to UN agencies partnering with terror-linked NGOs

UNICEF

In 2022, the EU funded UN agencies and NGOs involved in a multi-year campaign to generate international sanctions against the IDF, accusing it of violating the rights of Palestinian children.

UNICEF and a coalition of terror-linked and pro-BDS NGOs spearhead a campaign to have Israel included on a UN blacklist of “grave” violators of children’s rights. The list appears as an annex to the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC).

The annex is designed to generate “targeted measures against violators, including the possibility of sanctions” (emphasis added). To date, the annex almost entirely consists of failed states, state-sponsored militias, and terrorist organizations such as ISIS, Boko Haram, the Taliban, and Al-Qaeda.

Many of the NGOs leading this campaign comprise a “working group” – under the auspices of UNICEF –  that provides data to the Secretary-General’s report, which then presents the NGO allegations of Israeli wrongdoing as fact..

This NGO “working group” includes Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), designated as a terrorist entity by Israel in October 2021 over its ties to the PFLP terrorist organization.  It also includes other PFLP-linked groups – Al-Mezan and PCHR (see above). Other members of the working group, such as B’Tselem, use the “apartheid” libel and lobby governments and international institutions to sanction Israel.

(For more information on the campaign to blacklist the IDF, see NGO Monitor’s reports “Terror-linked and anti-Israel NGOs Exploit Children in Campaign to Blacklist the IDF” and “UNICEF and its NGO Working Group: Failing Children.”)

In 2022, the EU is continuing funding for the following 2021-2023 UNICEF project:

Project: Provision of Quality Education in Safe Protected Learning Environments Free From Violence for Affected Children in Need of Humanitarian Assistance Through Improved Coordination on Education in Emergencies, Response and Evidence-Based Advocacy in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Recipient: UNICEF

Amount: €1,600,000

Duration: 01/07/2021-30/09/2023

Relatedly, in 2022, the EU is also providing €1,000,000 to two “working group” members, World Vision and War Child Holland, for a 2022-2024 project on “Safe Access to Inclusive and Dignified Education in Areas B And C- West Bank.”

According to the website “Jobs in Palestine,” “the overall objective of the project is to contribute to improved resilience of boys and girls affected by conflict and insecurity by enabling education to provide life-sustaining and life- saving physical, psychosocial and cognitive support.”

A description of the responsibilities of the Case Management Officer tasked with implementing this project as described on the “Jobs in Palestine” website, includes “Monitoring and reporting” and coordination with national and international child “protection” actors. This language suggests that the project is part of the CAAC campaign intended to to blacklist the IDF.

UN-OCHA

Project: Strengthening Humanitarian Coordination and Advocacy to Respond to Humanitarian Crisis

Amount: €700,000

Duration: 01/01/2022-31/12/2023

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) oversees and facilitates government funding to anti-Israel NGOs, including PFLP-linked organizations, and groups that promote BDS and lawfare.  As opposed to other OCHA branches around the world, OCHA-oPt prioritizes one-sided political advocacy in place of traditional humanitarian assistance.

OCHA activities in the West Bank and Gaza are defined and coordinated by a Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), “a strategic and operational decision-making and oversight forum.”  According to a July 2022 OCHA document, “Palestinian NGOs are represented by several umbrella bodies, one of which is PNGO [Palestinian NGO Network] which is part of the HCT.”

Additionally, OCHA-OPT’s 2023 “humanitarian response plan,” notes that in order to further OCHA’s activities and agenda, “In early 2023, a network of stakeholders will be developed that includes development partners, the PA, civil society, the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organization Network (PNGO),” and others.

(For more information, see NGO Monitor’s report, “UN OCHA-oPt: Exploiting Humanitarianism to Advance Political Warfare.”)

PNGO is an umbrella organization comprising 142 Palestinian NGO member organizations, including PFLP-linked organizations.

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.”

Additionally, multiple PNGO officials have ties to terrorist organizations. For instance, 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.”

(For more information, see NGO Monitor’s report, “PNGO’s Ties to Palestinian Terror Groups.”)

EU Funding for NGOs Promoting the Apartheid Libel and BDS campaigns, and discrediting the IHRA Definition

In 2022, the EU authorized eight grants totaling approximately €2.8 million to projects involving Palestinian NGOs that advance BDS campaigns or accuse Israel being an apartheid state, and campaign to discredit the IHRA working definition on antisemitism.

Holy Land Trust (HLT) 7

Grant subject: Project – Building Podcast and Media Creation Skills for Peace Building and Democracy

Amount: €36,488/€297,288

Duration: 01/01/2023-31/12/2024

Previous EU grants since 2010:

Grant: “From dialogue to action: cross-border cooperation as a mean to peacebuilding”; €544,353; 2020-2022

Grant: “Social and citizen journalism”; €24,864; 2014

Holy Land Trust (HLT) accuses Israel of committing “apartheid” and advocates for BDS measures.  Additionally, its president, Jonathan Kuttab, has written apologetically about Hamas attacks on Israel:

  • In May 2021, Holy Land Trust called on governments to “condemn Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing and apartheid in Palestine.”
  • Jonathan Kuttab signed an October 2020 letter to Congresscalling for the U.S. to “stop funding Israel’s military,” as well as speaking at a January 2019 event in Canada calling for “economic, non-violent, and cultural [efforts], using diplomatic pressure, international law, and the global boycott, divest and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.”
  • In May 2018, Kuttab wrote that Hamas “occasionally dares to resist by shooting  largely ineffective rockets at Israel; it even dares to dig tunnels to break out of its suffocating isolation, while Israel routinely invades its territory and bombs Gazans, mostly civilians, at will.”

The Center for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights Association (Hurryyat)

Grant subject: Strengthening and Enhancing Rehabilitation, Prevention of Torture, and Accountability in Palestine8

Amount: €473,358

Duration: 01/01/2023-31/12/2024

Previous EU grants since 2010:

Grant: “Torture is a humiliation of dignity”; €261,914; 2018-2021

One out of three implementing NGO partners of a €290,802 Grant: “Restoring the rights to remedy and reparations for victims of torture and other ill-treatments”; 2014

Hurryyat regularly accuses Israel of committing “apartheid,” including in:

Hurryyat also campaigns in support of BDS measures:

Notably, in July 2017, Hurryyat asserted that terrorists have a “right” to receive salaries from the PA, and Director General Helmi al-Aaraj stated, “To lay a finger on the prisoners’ rights is to attack the Palestinian struggle.”

Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network

Grant subject: Driver of Change: Community Empowerment for Environmental Protection in East Jerusalem9

Amount: €750,000

Duration: 01/10/2022-30/09/2025

Previous EU grants since 2010:

One out of seven implementing NGO partners of a €997,153 grant: “Empowering environmental watchdogs at risk in Asia with innovative protection and  advocacy methodologies”; 2017-2019.

One out of two implementing NGO partners of a €247,629 Grant: “Strengthen capacity of civil society organizations in C area and seam zone to promote water as human rights  issue”; 2014-2016.

PENGON has lobbied against EU-Israel cooperation, as well as encouraged international legal action against Israel:

  • In November 2021, PENGON coordinator Abeer Butmeh participated in an event titled “How Apartheid Israel and Climate Change are Intertwined.” The event discussed “settler colonialism, apartheid and military occupation,” as well as “defining steps to stop the Jewish National Fund and joint gas projects between Israel and the EU in the Mediterranean.”
  • An August 2021 PENGON publication called for the Palestinians to “put Israel under accountability in international courts and concerned committees to compensate for what was looted from them.”
  • In March 2018, PENGON published an article about the EU-Israel energy cooperation, stating that “The EU has a legal duty of non-recognition…EU purchases of Israeli gas would enable substantial revenues to be used in Israel’s militarisation and de facto annexationist policies of the occupied Palestinian territory and appropriation and exploitation of its natural resources.”

Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC)

Grant subject: Protecting the Right of Development for Palestinian Communities Through Advocacy and Support of Human Rights Defenders10

Amount: €486,735

Duration: 01/02/2023-31/01/2025

Previous EU grants since 2010:

Grant: “Protection of marginalized communities in East Jerusalem through legal aid, planning and advocacy”; €2.086 million; 2020-2022

One out of two implementing NGO partners of a €561,100 Grant: “Protection of marginalized Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem and Area C of  the West Bank through legal aid, planning and advocacy”; 2016-2019

JLAC accuses Israel of committing “apartheid” and supports “lawfare” campaigns:

 In an April 2020 statement, JLAC and other signatories alleged that “Israeli apartheid undermines Palestinians’ right to health during COVID-19 pandemic,” adding that “it is the responsibility of all states to take effective measures, to uphold international justice and responsibility for the Palestinian victims, and to end the apartheid regime of Israel.

In November 2019, JLAC signed a letter to the ICC Chief Prosecutor calling to open “an official, full-scale investigation into the ‘situation in Palestine.’”

PCHR and 7amleh (see section “EU Grantees Linked to the PFLP and/or That Glorify Violence” for funding information)

Both PCHR and 7amleh have campaigned to discredit the IHRA working definition.

For instance, On April, 3, 2023, PCHR and 7amleh co-signed an NGO joint letter addressed to UN Secretary-General, urging the UN to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The NGOs involved in this campaign include a number of terror-linked groups, NGOs that run campaigns denying Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, those claiming that the country’s existence is a form of apartheid, and pro-BDS lobbyists.

(For more information on the NGO campaign to discredit the IHRA definition, including by PCHR and 7amleh,  see NGO Monitor’s database, “The NGO Campaign to Discredit the IHRA Definition”)

EU Funding to Anti-Israel International NGOs

In 2022, the EU funded eight grants totaling approximately €16.4 million for international NGOs operating in the West Bank and Gaza.  This includes €8.9 million in three 2021-2023 grants to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) – a leader in anti-Israel lawfare, BDS, and advocacy campaigns – as well as €3.5 million to the likeminded Oxfam Novib.

Ongoing EU-funded NRC projects include:

  1. Grant subject: Prevention of the Forcible Transfer of Palestinians in the West Bank, Including East Jerusalem, Through Humanitarian Assistance and Evidence-Based Advocacy

Amount: €5.580,000

Duration: 01/02/2021- 28/02/2023

  1. Grant subject: Humanitarian Response to the Most Vulnerable Population Affected by Extreme Poverty, Humanitarian Crisis, and Violations of IHL/IHRL in the Gaza Strip.

Amount: €3.000,000

Duration: 01/02/2021           28/02/2023

  1. Grant subject: Safe and Inclusion Learning Opportunities for the Most Conflict Affected Children in the West Bank and Gaza

Amount: €400,000

Duration: 01/06/2021           31/08/2023

(For more information on the NRC, read NGO Monitor’s report, “Flooding the Courts: The Norwegian Refugee Council’s European-Funded Proxy War.”)

On June 27, 2023, NGO Monitor submitted a Freedom of Information request to the EU in order to obtain details on the identity of local implementing partners of these three grants. On July 24, 2023, the European Commission provided the following response to NGO Monitor (on file) from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO): “After having carefully assessed the case in the context of the current very fluid and restrictive operating environment, the EU is not in a position to disclose the requested information as they could undermine the safety and integrity of the concerned aid workers and the protection of the targeted beneficiaries.”

Ongoing EU grants to Oxfam Novib include:

  1. Grant subject: Building The Palestinian Agricultural Insurance Systems and Services

Amount: €2,500,000

Duration: 01/04/2022-31/03/2025

  1. Grant subject: Address the Basic Humanitarian Needs and Enhance the Protection Conditions of Vulnerable, Underserved, and Crises Affected HHS in the Gaza Strip and Promote the Triple Nexus Approach

Amount: €1,000,000

Duration: 01/06/2022-30/04/2024

Oxfam Novib has provided funding to Palestinian NGOs linked to the PFLP terror group, such as the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and PCHR.

It has also advocated for anti-Israel BDS measures.  For instance, in May 2021, Oxfam Novib published a blog by Oxfam policy officer Leila Barhoum urging the United States “to realize that the billions in unconditional military aid to Israel that they approve each year — aid the Israeli military uses against my people — means that the United States is not a neutral spectator. or be an impartial peace broker, but fuel the conflict. I tell them that it is long overdue for them to critically examine the root causes of the violence and human rights abuses, and the US complicity in them.”