Europe-funded NGO supports ‘armed struggle’ against Israel

An NGO funded by the European Union and others has affirmed its support for “armed struggle” against Israel.

In a statement released Saturday night, the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said it “affirms the right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation by all available means, including armed struggle, all the way to achieve their legitimate rights, end the occupation and establish their independent state.”

The statement came in response to what it said was the IDF taking its reports out of context.

Even before its statement in support of violence against Israel, PCHR has for a long time had links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the EU, the US and others.

Those links, which were documented by NGO Monitor, which researches the funding of anti-Israel organizations to PFLP, include joint events, such as a book launch for a PFLP commander, and staff members, such as Director-General Raji Sourani, who said in 2014: “I was in the ranks of the Popular Front... We are proud that once we were members of this organization and we fought in its ranks.”

Which governments have provided funding?

The Swiss government approved a $380,000 grant to PCHR for the years 2021-2024, requiring the NGO to sign a contract committing to “refrain from incitement to violence or hatred.”

“Any breach of the above-mentioned obligation justifies the immediate termination of the present contract by the donor and entitles the donor to demand the full reimbursement of its effective contribution,” the contract reads.

The EU granted €475,000 to PCHR in 2022 for “promoting and protecting human rights.”

The NGO, however, said, “Starting in 2020, PCHR will employ all its resources and energy in this trajectory,” referring to the International Criminal Court’s investigation of Israel for alleged war crimes.

Last week, the European Parliament voted to call on the European Commission to create “a public black list of NGOs that have engaged in activities such as hate speech, incitement to terrorism, religious extremism supporting or glorifying violence, or have misused or misappropriated Union funds.”

In addition, the government of Ireland approved an €81,000 grant to PCHR in 2021, while the government of Norway gave $680,000 to PCHR in 2019-2021.

The Foreign Ministry said it plans to speak to each of the countries funding PCHR to make clear the severity with which it views their contributions to an organization calling for armed conflict against Israel.

“We demand that the EU and European states not fund organizations that call for a violent confrontation with Israel,” it said in a statement.

NGO Monitor vice president Olga Deutsch said: “PCHR is known for its biased positions on Israel. They have long maintained close ties to the terror group PFLP, and have been one of the leading voices working to criminalize Israel at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”

“This latest statement takes their activities outside the realm of political discourse, and openly incites to violence against Jews, and justifies terror,” she added. “The EU itself rules out any support for organizations [that] incite to violence, and we hope Brussels and other EU member states will act swiftly to cut their financial support to PCHR.”

The Irish Foreign Ministry said that "Ireland funds civil society organizations working on human rights, including Palestinian civil society organizations. These organizations play a critical role in promoting international law, peace, human rights and democratic values.  We operate robust checks to ensure that our funding is used only for the purpose intended.”