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Executive Summary

  • Publicly available information shows that at least nine Palestinian NGOs, recipients of millions of euros of EU taxpayer funds, have justified and celebrated the October 7th terror attacks, or denied the atrocities.
  • MIFTAH, a Palestinian NGO that claims to combat gender-based violence, repeatedly denied the systematic sexual violence against Israeli women on October 7th.
  • The EU continues to support the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a Palestinian NGO designated in 2021 by Israel as a terror organization based on extensive evidence of links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an EU-designated terror group that took part in the October 7th In February, the German government reportedly permanently ended its years’ long support for UAWC and five additional Israeli-designated PFLP-linked NGOs.
  • In November 2023, the EU announced the temporary suspension of funds to NGO beneficiaries of two EU-funded projects that were “subject of allegations of incitement to hatred and violence after the 7 October 2023 events.” The EU has not made public the findings of the internal review.
  • An abundance of evidence shows that much of the €1.18 billion in humanitarian and development aid channeled to Palestinian NGO projects in 2021-2024, directly and through the United Nations, was diverted to terror infrastructure and terror-related groups. To ensure better vetting procedures and control mechanisms moving forward, the European Parliament and the European Commission must take a more critical approach. The European Parliament, in both its current session and after the forthcoming elections, should initiate discussions to this end and engage with a broad base of independent experts.

Introduction

On October 7, 2023 (which was the Sabbath and a Jewish holiday), thousands of Palestinian terrorists – members of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), all EU-designated terror entities – poured across the border from Gaza into Israel, slaughtering over 1,200, and torturing, maiming, raping and kidnapping others. Gaza Palestinians also engaged in public desecration of victims’ bodies.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) supported through the European Union (EU) External Actions development and humanitarian programs with the stated aim to promote “human rights” and “international law” have failed to condemn these blatant violations of human rights and humanitarian principles. In fact, many did the exact opposite, justifying and celebrating the attacks in an attempt to legitimize terrorism in general and Hamas in particular by referring to this brutality as acts of “resistance.” Some NGOs have been explicit in defending and supporting terrorism (see examples below), and senior NGO representatives have spread messages denying Hamas’ atrocities such as systematic sexual violence against Israeli women.

Like other European governments, the European Union suspended aid to Palestinians in mid-October. On November 21, 2023, the European Commission announced the resumption of development cooperation. According to the EU, an internal review “has shown that the Commission controls and existing safeguards in place- which have been significantly strengthened in the past years – work well and no evidence has been found to date that money has been diverted for unintended purposes.”

Notably, the EU revealed that, since it introduced a global and basic anti-terror requirement in its contracts in 2021, Palestinian NGOs involved in 11 projects totaling €14.3 million refused to sign the contract.1

In addition, the internal review admitted the need of “some additional measures, such as the inclusion of relevant anti-incitement contractual clauses in all new contracts and ensure the monitoring of their strict application at all times.” This follows the identification of NGO beneficiaries of two EU-funded projects that were “subject of allegations of incitement to hatred and violence after the 7 October 2023 events.”

A similar review by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) reached the same conclusion, identifying examples of incitement to hatred and violence. But, unlike the EU, which neither published the identity of the NGOs of concern nor clarified if the suspension of funds was made permanent, Switzerland ended its contractual partnership with two Palestinian NGOs and a US-based group more transparently.

Likewise, on November 22, 2023, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported that EU-Funded PFLP-linked Al-Haq, “will no longer receive funds from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.” According to DW, “a spokesperson for the ministry recently said that organizations that supported armed resistance to Israel were not appropriate partners.” On February 13, 2024, German news outlet Frankfurter Allegemeine reported that Germany would end all new funding to six Israeli-designated PFLP-linked NGOs.

Although the EU internal review identified concerns regarding two NGO- implemented projects, the following report provides tens of examples, all easily verifiable online, from EU-grantee NGOs that openly incite hatred and violence.

This report covers 10 NGOs – 9 Palestinian groups and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) – all of which have been recipients of EU funding in the last ten years.

Many of the NGOs are linked to the PFLP terror group; some of them were designated by Israel in October 2021 as terror organizations due to these close interconnections.

Paris-based FIDH, which also received EU funds, is centrally involved in the notorious campaign accusing Israel of “genocide.” Three EU-funded NGO members of FIDH, which have links to the PFLP, spearheaded the antisemitic genocide campaign and served as advisers to South Africa in the case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Examples of EU-Funded NGOs that Justified Hamas’ Attack and Denied Atrocities

MIFTAH

According to the EU Financial Transparency System (FTS), MIFTAH received at least €765,895 from the European Commission in 2018-2023.

  • On March 26, 2024, MIFTAH published a statement denying the systematic rapes of Israeli women on October 7th, referring to them as “Israeli allegations and misinformation, used to justify this genocide.”
  • In a February 22, 2024 statement, MIFTAH referred to rapes of Israeli women as “unsubstantiated Israeli allegations which were used to justify and commit the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
  • MIFTAH’s founder and chair of its Board of Directors Hanan Ashrawi repeatedly denied in interviews and on her Twitter/X account Hamas’ atrocities, calling accusations of massacres, rape, and beheading of children “nonsense” and “an orchestrated smear campaign.”
  • On March 5, 2024, Hanan Ashrawi attempted to undermine a UN report that confirmed sexual violence during Hamas’ attack. Ashrawi tweeted: “’UN Report’ is based entirely on official Israeli sources! How credible is that form of hasbara? This totally invalidates the ‘report’.”

Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)

According to the EU FTS, in 2021-2025, UAWC is an implementing partner of a project “Build Economic Resilience in Gaza” totaling €3.4 million. In a response to a Freedom of Information request from NGO Monitor, the EU revealed that UAWC will receive up to €319,880 (on file with NGO Monitor).

  • On October 13, UAWC Project Coordinator Moayyad Bsharat posted on Facebook, “What is required today from the [Palestinian] Authority is simple, really simple, that it responses, in an assertive fashion on the countries that support the Zionist terror and make it clear for them what the position of the Palestinian people is about self-determination by all means available…We Palestinian are facing a mechanism of Zionist terror and its western supporting tools. Our Arab Palestinian people shall have victory no matter the time it will take” (emphasis added). On October 11, Bsharat posted on Facebook, “Is there anything more beautiful than traveling by air from Lebanese airspace to Israel airspace with a glider?! [i.e. addressing the threat posed by Hezobllah to Israel] May Allah be pleased with them. #Gone_be_the_humiliation [a shi’ite phrase said in times of waging war].”
  • On October 10, UAWC’s Director of Advocacy Saad el-Din Ziada posted on Facebook, “Do not hesitate in supporting the resistance, even by praising. It is our right and the protector of our dignity and dreams.”
  • On October 7, UAWC’s head of the Gaza Fisherman Committee Zakaria Bakr posted on Facebook, “Complete the history and change the geography, it is the great October, October of victories.”
  • On October 7, UAWC Project Coordinator Houssam Abuabdou posted on Facebook, “October 7 has witnessed the power and will of a great people.”

Note:

  • UAWC is a PFLP-linked NGO that was designated by Israel in 2021 over its close links to the PFLP terror group.
  • In 2019, two UAWC financial officers were arrested by Israel and are currently standing trial, accused for their involvement in a terror attack in which 17-year old Israeli Rina Shnerb was murdered.
  • On January 5, 2022, the Netherlands announced the cancellation of a contract with UAWC citing ties to the PFLP. The report by an independent investigation commissioned by the government confirmed that 34 UAWC employees in 2007-2020 had ties to the PFLP, some holding leadership positions in the terrorist group concurrent to their employment at UAWC.
  • For more information on UAWC’s PFLP ties, see NGO Monitor’s report, “Clear and Convincing: The Links between the PFLP and the European Government-funded NGO Network.”

Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)

According to the EU FTS, in 2023-2024, PCHR is a recipient of a €475,000 grant.

  • On October 7, 2023, PCHR Fundraising and Program Officer Feda’a Murjan postedon Facebook, “We will truly step in our land. Allah, you are our protector and supporter.”
  • On October 8, PCHR, Al-Haq (see below), and Al Mezan (see below) published a joint statement calling for “Immediate Action from the International Community to Stop Israel’s Reprisals against Palestinian Civilians.” According to the statement, “On Saturday, 7 October 2023, Palestinian armed groups engaged in an operation in response to escalating Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.”

Previously, 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.

 Note:

PCHR has close links to the PFLP terror group. In November 2023, Switzerland (FDFA) announced it ended its funding to PCHR over breach of FDFA’s Code of Conduct. Swiss media, citing FDFA’s Head of communications, revealed that the reason for the end of the contractual relationship between FDFA and PCHR was the latter’s problematic attitudes towards  violence.

Association for Woman and Child Protection (AISHA)

According to the EU FTS, in 2023-2026, AISHA is a recipient of a €490,000 grant. Additionally, AISHA is an implementing partner of the 2021-2025 project “Build Economic Resilience in Gaza” totaling €3.4 million (amount earmarked to AISHA is not detailed).

  • On October 16, 2023, Taghreed Jomaa, Chair of the Board at Aisha Association for Woman and Child Protection, shared a Facebook post denying the Hamas massacre and that bodies of victims were burnt. The post suggested, using graphic images, that Israel was presenting a picture of a burnt dog as that of a burnt child. The post, referring to a well-known hate propagandist, read: “Western support for Israel is because of a dog??? American journalist Jackson Hinkle revealed that the photo of the charred child published by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fake. Netanyahu said that it was of an Israeli child who was burned by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). According to a report by Fatima Triki, the American journalist revealed that the photo of the alleged Israeli child is [actually] one of a dog in a veterinary clinic that was distorted using artificial intelligence, but Western media is quick to repeat Netanyahu’s lies without verification or evidence.”

 Note:

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.

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

Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO)

According to the EU FTS, in 2021-2024, PNGO is receiving a grant of €1.25 million.

  • On October 8, PNGO published a statement demanding “National unity to combat the challenges and to supply international protection to the Palestinian people.” According to the statement, “We in PNGO salute this honorable image that our people are sketching.” The statement further called for the world to “see the true reality, which is that the Palestinian people have been facing, for more than 75 years, a racist, fascist occupation…The Palestinian people are living in a national liberation phase and do not deal with the illusions of peace that is based on imposing a fait accompli. They are resisting this with all valor and sacrifice.” (translated from the original Arabic by NGO Monitor).

 Note:

  • PNGO, an umbrella organization, defends the legitimacy of Palestinian “resistance” and opposes normalization with Israel and Israelis. Several PNGO members have been designated for their PFLP links, and two PNGO board members are currently standing trial for terror-related offenses. For more information on PNGO’ s PFLP links, see NGO Monitor’s report, “Potential Abuse of German Development Resources by Terror Affiliated Palestinian NGOs,” January 2023).
  • In November 2023, Switzerland (FDFA) announced it ended its funding to PNGO over breach of FDFA’s Code of Conduct. Swiss media, citing FDFA’ s Head of communications, revealed that the reason for the end of the contractual relationship between FDFA and PNGO was the latter’s problematic attitudes towards  violence.

7amleh

According to 7amleh’s May 2023 filing with the EU Transparency Registrar, the EU provided the NGO with €190,000 in 2022.

  •  On October 7, 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. Israel, in its turn, is constrained by this and has announced a state of high mobilization for war. The message of the resistance is clear, it has started and it shall escalate and shall impose a new reality.”
  • On October 9, 7amleh Project Coordinator Mohammad Badarneh posted on Facebook, “The ‘only important’ value of a human being living under occupation is the extent of his resistance to that occupation, in all possible means.”

Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS)

According to the EU FTS, in 2014-2022, PMRS partnered on several EU grants totaling €5.45 million.

  • On October 7, 2023, President Mustafa Barghouti declared: “Today is a glorious day for the Palestinian resistance and people. The resistance paid with interest for the attacks of the terrorist settlers, and for the attacks against the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It paid with interest for those who normalize [their relations] with the occupation.”
  • On December 6, 2023, Baghouthi tweeted: “The Israeli establishment and government are conducting a black media campaign spreading the false propaganda about rape of Israeli women on the 7th of October to justify the horrific war crimes they are committing in Gaza. American media itself revoked the allegations of rape.”
  • According to Wattan, during a demonstration held “in support of the resistance in Gaza” on October 10, Barghouti stated, “These marches affirm the Palestinian people’s support in the resistance and that the Palestinian people is united wherever it is.”
  • On October 7, in an interview with Al Jazeera, Barghouti stated, “This initiative by the resistance that we have seen is a response to Israeli settlers’ terror that has been taking place all over the West Bank with the protection of the Israeli army…. It is a reaction to the attacks on the Aqsa mosque and the process of judaization of not only Jerusalem and the Aqsa mosque but the whole of the West Bank…but maybe politically it is also a response to those who thought that through normalization with the Arab countries they can liquidate and marginalize the Palestinian issue. It is coming back in the most possible forcible way…It shows that Israel is not almighty and also it shows what Palestinians can do when they are determined to resist for their freedom…”
  • In televised statement broadcasted on Wattanon October 15, Barghouti claimed, “The Palestinians are subjected to a new Nakba now, one that is more dangerous and worse than the 1948 Nakba…Israel, with full support from the US and unfortunate backing from western countries, is committing four dangerous actions against the Palestinian people: Dehumanizing Palestinians, collective punishment, ethnic cleansing and genocide. ‘Israel’ is attempting to dehumanize and demonize Palestinians, and falsely claim that Hamas is ISIS, by various lies which some media outlets have retracted from, as the CNN reporter who apologized who spreading fake news about the beheading of Israeli children, in addition to the LA Times newspaper that apologized for its false claims on incidents on rape…Barghouti warned from black propaganda that is spread  by ‘israel’ and fabrication of news in order to commit war crimes against the Palestinian people…’Israel’ is exploiting current events to carry out schemes that it has been planning for the past years…”

Al-Haq

According to the EU FTS, in 2018-2021, Al-Haq was granted €296,600.

  • On October 10, 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, 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.”
  • On October 12, Al-Haq Legal Researcher and Advocacy Officer Aseel Al-Bajeh tweeted, “We don’t need to speak of our right to resist, for it is not a right, but a way of being & survival for Palestinians. We don’t demand our right to narrate. Our ability to narrate was never out of our hands & resistance doesn’t need the pre- approval of static int’l law codes. Its not ‘our duty to expose the bloody barbarism of zionism, their actions as a fascist state & a ruthless army are more than sufficient to undertake this task. We remain attached to our land & in our humanity, as Pal Arabs no need to prove our humanity to those who have lost it.”
  • On October 9, Hmaidan shared a picture on Facebook of a Palestinian terrorist Ibrahim Nabulsi aiming a gun, and wrote, “A message of intense love. The picture of one of the men of the ‘flood’ [referring to the name ‘the flood of Al-Aqsa’ given by Hamas to the murderous October 7 attacks], during a confrontation in one of the [israeli] bases that was stormed [by Palestinian terrorists]. This picture carries a thousand signs and meanings. Observe the picture that the sniper of the flood stuck on his rifle. Do you recognize who is in the picture? This is the intense love is for Ibrahim [Nabulsi].”
  • On October 9, Hmaidan posted on Facebook, “To Palestine alone we give everything, until it is pleased. And for what the world wants – may it go to hell.”
  • On October 11, 2023, Al-Haq Legal Researcher and Advocacy Officer Aseel Al-Bajeh tweeted, “‘The process of liberation is irresistible & irreversible & in order to avoid serious crises, an end must be put to colonialism & all practices of segregation & discrimination associated therewith’ UN resolution 1514, binding on all states!”
  • On October 7, Al-Bajeh tweeted by quoting Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh, “Leave our land, get out of our faces.”

 Note:

  • Al-Haq is a PFLP-linked NGO that was designated by Israel in 2021 over its close links to the PFLP terror group. For more information on Al-Haq’s PFLP ties, see NGO Monitor’s report, “Clear and Convincing: The Links between the PFLP and the European Government-funded NGO Network.”
  • In May 2021, in light of Israeli allegations of NGO links to the PFLP, including diversion of funds, the European Commission suspended its support to Al-Haq, pending the results of an investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). On June 30, 2022, Al-Haq claimed that the EU lifted the suspension of funds.
  • On November 22, 2023, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported that Al-Haq, “will no longer receive funds from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.” According to DW, “a spokesperson for the ministry recently said that organizations that supported armed resistance to Israel were not appropriate partners.”

European Commission-Funded NGOs Spearhead “Genocide” Accusations

  • According to FIDH’s 2022 annual report (latest available), in 2022 the European Commission provided FIDH with €6 million.
  • According to the EU FTS, in 2021-2023, Al Mezan was granted €375,000.

On December 12, 2023, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), an international NGO based in Paris, publicized a resolution headlined, “Israel’s unfolding crime of genocide and other crimes in Gaza and against the Palestinian People.” It had been written and adopted during a meeting of FIDH’s international board in November 2023.

The resolution packages several false accusations related to the current war (“Israel’s use of starvation as a tool of warfare” and “forced displacement”), alongside recurrent themes of antisemitic NGO demonization (“apartheid,” “systematic domination and oppression over the Palestinian people for over 75 years”), to disingenuously conclude that “Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people constitute an unfolding genocide.”

This resolution is part of a campaign of atrocity inversion, aimed at portraying Israel as the worst violator of human rights in the world. NGOs accuse the Jewish State of genocide in order to distract from the  October 7th Hamas pogrom, the world’s deadliest one-day massacre in more than 20 years (see NGO Monitor’s report: “NGO Atrocity Inversion: False Accusations of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing to Distract from Hamas Massacre”).

FIDH members Al-Haq (Al-Haq is also represented on FIDH’s international board), PCHR, and Al Mezan clearly influenced the resolution. The three NGOs, all linked to the PFLP terror group and funded by the European Commission (see above), promoted the “genocide” canard at the earliest stages of the war. For instance, on October 11, Al-Haq tweeted, “For the fifth day, the occupation forces continue to launch their attacks on the #Gaza Strip… in such a way that amounts to acts of genocide” (translated from the original Arabic). On October 15, Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and PCHR published a joint statement on Twitter/X claiming that “Palestinians are facing an impending genocide.”

The NGO campaign extended to the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The directors of the three NGOs – Shawan Jabarin (Al-Haq), Raji Sourani (PCHR), and Issam Younis (Al-Mezan) – served as advisers of the South African delegation at the ICJ.

Shawan Jabarin

Raji Sourani

  • Raji Sourani, founder and director of the PCHR, was “prohibited from leaving Palestine (sic) from 1977 to 1990.” According to a 1995 article in the Washington Report, Raji Sourani 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. Sourani was imprisoned an additional three times “in 1985 and 1986…” and held in administrative detention in 1988. From 1986 to 1987 he was “restricted from legal work for one year by an Israeli military decision issued by the Israeli Military Governor.
  • In February 2014, the PFLP organized a ceremony in Gaza honoring Sourani for winning the “Alternative Noble Prize.” Rabah Muhana, a member of the PFLP Political Bureau, delivered a speech at the prize ceremony. During the ceremony Sourani stated that “I was in the ranks of the Popular Front, and there were comrades who taught us with their own hands. This organization has given us much more. We hope that the direction and the sense of belonging that were planted inside us will remain in our minds. We don’t apologize and don’t regret our past, we are proud that once we were members of this organization and we fought in its ranks.”