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Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and massacred more than 1,200 civilians. Another 150 civilians were smuggled into Gaza. The Israeli army is currently fighting for the security and territorial integrity of the Israeli population, more than a fifth of whom are Arabs, and for the release of hostages.
So where does the money for the thousands of rockets, rifles, grenades, unmanned aerial vehicles and underground tunnels that terrorists have produced over the years come from? Who is financing the textbooks of the UN aid agency UNRWA, which will raise Palestinian children to be anti-Semitic and martyrs, as defined by the international educational materials testing agency Impact-Se?
There are various government development and financing programs as well as non-governmental organizations that play an important role in this. Hundreds of millions of francs are paid every year in donations, aid and grants to the Palestinian territories dominated by Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank.
Militants benefit from aid money
Not only Hamas and its friendly terrorist group “Islamic Jihad in Palestine” have violent actors in Gaza, but also the martyr brigades of Fatah and the terrorist-motivated Palestinian organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). All of the mentioned organizations benefit largely indirectly from donations made by Western states through various UN framework programs and aid agencies.
The EU is the largest donor to the Palestinians. The EU Commission wants to examine how EU aid will continue. Problem: No deal. In country comparison, Switzerland is also one of the largest donors to the Palestinian territories. The government funds numerous Israeli and Palestinian NGOs through the EDA and its Development and Cooperation Directorate (SDC), which has representatives in Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
39 million francs per year
Switzerland provides an average of 39 million francs a year for humanitarian aid, development cooperation and peace efforts in the Middle East. Of this, 12 million will go to UNRWA Palestine, which provides the much-criticized teaching materials. A lot of Swiss money is flowing into the projects through the Norwegian Refugee Council, Diakonie and the Swiss church group Heks.
But it’s not always clear exactly what projects the money is being used for. NGO Monitor finds that for 2022 alone, almost 10 percent of 1,063 aid payments from top aid-providing countries were unclear on what the money would actually be spent on. NGO Monitor is a non-governmental organization that monitors the flow of funds through which organizations benefit from payments and has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Relations with Hamas deepened
The organization reveals that some of the final buyers spread anti-Semitic rhetoric and are linked to the PFLP, which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and the EU. NGO Monitor writes in its 2022 annual report: The PFLP’s relations with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah have deepened since the 1990s.
The list of questionable grant recipients in the monitoring report is long and their agendas are often questionable. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) received 342,300 francs from the FDFA last year. NGO Monitor writes that PCHR is a leader in anti-Israel campaigns and ignores the existence of terrorism against Israeli civilians. Another example: the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), which received exactly 186,200 francs in 2022. PNGO is an umbrella organization with 142 Palestinian NGO affiliates, many of whom support Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaigns and have ties to the PFLP terrorist group.
“political parties”
In January 2020, PNGO strongly opposed a new clause in the EU’s funding contracts with Palestinian NGOs that prohibits recipients from cooperating with and funding organizations and individuals on the EU’s terrorist lists. PNGO argued that Palestinian terrorist organizations are “political parties”. Many PNGO officials have links to EU-designated terrorist organizations.
In 2022, Ma’an Development Center received 292,300 francs. Its director general, Sami Khader, attended a commemorative event organized by the PFLP in 2019, which highlighted PFLP Politburo member Rabah Muhanna, who, according to the PFLP, helped establish many PFLP-affiliated NGOs, including Addameer.
Support for Palestinian prisoners
This organization, which received 135,763 francs from Switzerland four years ago, is a “member organization” (NGO Monitor) of the PFLP and the leader of campaigns to support Palestinian detainees convicted of security crimes. They refer to them as “political prisoners” and ignore the context of violence and terror.
Miftah received 177,000 francs in 2022 for glorifying terrorists and using anti-Israeli rhetoric. In the same year, Palestine Vision Organization (Palvision) also received money from Switzerland, 214,500 francs. Many board members, officers, and employees of Palvision glorified violence against Israeli civilians and praised terrorists and terrorist attacks.
Also last year, B’Tselem received 100,725 francs. In January 2021, B’Tselem launched a hateful campaign attacking Israel’s role as a refuge for Jews under the Law of Return. The organization used the phrase “river to sea”, a euphemism for the destruction of Israel.
“Switzerland has a duty of care”
Stephanie Graetz, executive director of the Foundation Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (GRA) in Zurich, thinks this has all gone too far. “Switzerland has an obligation to be careful when distributing aid funds.”
When asked, the State Department said it had “no information about Hamas, Hezbollah and Swiss funds that benefit their activities.” The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) attaches “great importance to ensuring that its financial support is used appropriately.”
Additionally, EDA systematically exercises close control over all its partners and has “various management and control tools to anticipate and limit operational and political risks that may be associated with cooperation with contractual partners.” But you don’t want to leave it at that. FDFA is currently assessing the impact of the situation on its Middle East cooperation program and financial support. “He will act accordingly,” a spokesman says.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
