https://www.jns.org/germany-cuts-funding-to-ngos-labeled-terror-orgs-by-israel-in-2021/
The German government will cease funding six Palestinian NGOs that were declared terrorist organizations in 2021 by then Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported last week.
NGO Monitor, an Israeli watchdog group that spearheaded the effort to convince Germany to stop funding the groups, considers it a major development.
“It is huge because it is the first government in the world that is basically recognizing that Israel’s evidence was right concerning the designation of the six,” Olga Deutsch, vice president of NGO-Monitor, told JNS.
While Germany did freeze funding to the NGOs at the time pending review, for the last two years it had resisted calls to end funding altogether.
Indeed, in July 2022, Germany along with eight other European Union states said they would continue working with the six groups, claiming Israel had provided “no substantial evidence” justifying their assertion of the groups’ terror links.
The NGOs earned their terrorist designation from Israel for their close ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
“Part of the problem is that Germany is one of the least transparent countries when it comes to providing aid,” said Deutsch, describing 34 different funding mechanisms under two ministries. Government money is also funneled through development programs, political party foundations and church aid groups, among other means.
