Israel’s decision to declare six Palestinian Non-Governmental Agencies (NGO’s) as terrorist organizations received objections from both European and US governments. The Europeans declared that they will continue funding these Palestinian NGO’s. According to Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz, these agencies are an arm of a terrorist organization that seeks the destruction of the state of Israel. The organization Gantz referred to is the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The six agencies designated by Gantz as part of a terror organization last October include Addameer, Al-Hak, Bisan Center, Defense for Children International Palestine,
The Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees. In the Defense Minister’s statement, he pointed out that, “These groups have received large sums of money from European countries and international organizations while using fraud and deception methods.” The money is used by the six agencies to help the PFLP promote terrorism, recruit members, and pay salaries to security prisoners and their families, as well as to fund active terrorists.
Furthermore, the statement asserted that “the groups are controlled by the senior leadership of the PFLP and employ many members of the groups both in management jobs and on the ground – including activists who were involved in terrorism.”
On Monday, August 22, 2022, 17 European ambassadors responded to Israel’s Foreign Ministry request to stop their funding of these groups, stating that they will continue to fund them.
The Europeans contended that Israel was unable to persuade them that the six designated agencies are terror supporting groups. Israel’s General Security Services (Shin Bet) provided the European states with hard intelligence that proved that these Palestinian agencies were involved in anti-Israel activities, including terrorism. Ned Price, the US State Department spokesperson said that he would require Israel’s Defense Ministry to explain why it has designated the six Palestinian NGO’s as terror organizations. For its part, the CIA declared that it did not find evidence that the six NGO’s are involved in terror. But then again, the CIA has missed things before, more than once…
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