(Communicated by the MFA Spokesperson)
The Netherlands has ceased funding funding the The Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) - one of six NGOs after an investigation found links to an EU-designated terrorist group. The decision was sponsored by Dutch Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Minister Tom de Bruijn and Foreign Minister Ben Knapen.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ announcement regarding the ceasing of funding of the UAWC is an important announcement, since it has been proven to be an organic part of the PFLP terrorist organization, like five other organizations recently designated.
Israel will continue its dialogue with the Netherlands and additional countries in regard to these organizations. Supporting these organizations constitutes a violation of Israeli law.
Israel welcomes the announcement by the Dutch Foreign Ministry that it will continue supporting projects which assist Palestinian civil society through legitimate aid organizations, an important goal which Israel also shares.
In October, Israel designated six Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) terrorist organizations. UAWC, Addameer, the Bisan Center, Al-Haq, Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCI-P), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) have been added to this list of terror-funding organizations, following the UHC which was declared an illegal entity in Israel several years ago and in Judea and Samaria in early 2020.
Such designations carry legal consequences for designated groups and those who cooperate with them, including criminal proceedings for abetting terrorism - both in Israel and in judicial entities around the world, and can jeopardize peace talks and access to humanitarian aid. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was among the first groups designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States.
Following the designation, Irish Foreign Minister Coveney expressed his concern at the matter, especially considering that Ireland is not one of the countries Israel has seen fit to share the intelligence materials basing the accusation.