Denmark is allocating millions of dollars to anti-Israel Palestinian organizations, fueling hatred against Israel and hindering any chance of peace.
Denmark is allocating millions of dollars to anti-Israel Palestinian organizations, an Israeli watchdog reported.
Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Anders Samuelsen held a series of meetings in Ramallah on Thursday, where according to documents published by the Danish government, he announced an additional $8.3 million (DKK 56 million) in Danish funding to the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, which distributes funds to numerous anti-Israel organizations.
The Secretariat is a joint funding mechanism of the Danish, Dutch, Swedish, and Swiss governments, operating out of Bir Zeit University in Ramallah.
The Secretariat describes its goal as contributing “to the effective realization of adherence to human rights and international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and to influence the behavior of the relevant duty bearers, including Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the governing bodies/authorities in Gaza.”
Despite this, a large portion of the Secretariat’s budget is distributed as core funding to radical Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that incite violence and terrorism, are active in global BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns against Israel, engage in legal warfare attempting to indict Israeli officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and employ demonizing rhetoric, such as making spurious charges of Israeli apartheid and war crimes allegations, NGO Monitor says. NGO Monitor is an independent research institution that monitors other NGOs claiming to fight for human rights, but which in fact assault Israel.
Actions Inconsistent with Policies
“The activities promoted by this funding framework are inconsistent with Denmark’s official support for the peace process and for a two-state framework,” NGO Monitor pointed out.
Olga Deutsch, Director of NGO Monitor’s Europe Desk, called the Danish decision “alarming.”
“That this decision was made without in-depth public hearings in the Danish Parliament is inconsistent with democratic practice and good governance. Danish Members of Parliament should debate whether Danish taxpayers should transfer their hard-earned money to organizations that incite violence, glorify terror, and promote blatant anti-Semitism and BDS,” she stated
NGO Monitor has presented this information to the Danish government, and is calling for “more responsible decision making” by the Danish government.
Samuelsen met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, during which Netanyahu told him that the true reason for the absence of a solution to the Palestinian issue is the Palestinian incitement to terrorism, and asked that Denmark halt assistance to Palestinian organizations that support anti-Israel activities.
Denmark is active in supporting and financing other anti-Israel activities and organizations.
