Palestinians take control of an Israeli tank after crossing the border fence with Israel at Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: UPI/Alamy Live News
The European Union is funding non-governmental organizations whose members have called Hamas' massacre of Israeli civilians «resistance», The Telegraph reports.
Investigation reveals that several Palestinian groups backed by Brussels < /p>
One major organization issued a statement the day after terrorists invaded Israeli civilian settlements, saying: “They are resisting with… courage and sacrifice.”
Another board member said: “The message of resistance is clear.”
In a surprise attack on a religious holiday, at least 1,400 people were killed in numerous settlements near the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, including the elderly, women, children and infants, some of whom were allegedly beheaded and burned alive.
Saturday's campaigners warned the EU that providing financial aid to groups that seek to «dehumanize» Israelis risks «giving them legitimacy.»
European Commission documents say some groups receive funding partly to facilitate their activities. «Middle East Peace Process.»
Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate victory over a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence to the east by Khan Younis Photo: Youssef Masoud/AP < p>It follows public wrangling among senior officials in Brussels over support for Israel's military response and continued aid to the Palestinians.
A network of Palestinian non-governmental organizations released a statement hours after the killings, saying the Palestinian people » lives at the stage of their national liberation and does not deal with the illusions of the world based on the imposition of the status quo, which they resist with courage and sacrifice.” .
The statement also condemns what it calls Israel's «racist and fascist occupation.» The network is a federation of organizations, some of whose members receive large sums of EU aid. Records show one member, the Jerusalem Consortium for Human Rights, received €700,000 in 2022.
On October 7, while Hamas terrorists were still rampaging through civilian settlements, Mustafa Barghouti, president of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, gave an interview to Al Jazeera.
In it, he equated the massacre with the actions of Israel, which — seem to justify the loss of life.
“This resistance initiative that we are seeing is a response to the terror of Israeli settlers that is happening throughout the West Bank under the protection of the Israeli army,” he said.
Hamas terrorists fly across the heavily fortified border with Israel using a motorized paraglider
Mr. Barghouti added: “The scale of what happened is truly astonishing and surprising.”
7amleh, a non-governmental organization with the aim of expanding digital outreach capabilities among Palestinian society, has been allocated €189,000 in 2022 from EU funds.
On October 9, one of the advocacy group's managers, Catherine Abuamsha, retweeted a statement saying that «nothing about the Palestinian resistance is unprovoked.» The statement goes on to describe Israel as a “colonial apartheid regime” engaged in “ethnic cleansing.”
Nevin Abu Rahmoun, a board member of the group, also posted a message on Facebook on the day of the massacre. about the “Palestinian Resistance.”
Olfa Deutsch of the Israeli organization NGO Monitor said: “There must be clear red lines.”
“Aid is a welcome thing, but none of it should sent to organizations that have any connection with anti-Semitism or condone terrorism.»
“Last week's massacre did not happen out of nowhere.”
She added: “We have repeatedly notified the EU of our concerns about the language and affiliation of some of the NGOs receiving assistance.”
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The issue of aid to Palestine appeared to have exposed cracks among the Brussels elite in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Oliver Vargely, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, announced two days after the atrocity that all payments from the EU development program were for the Palestinians will be suspended and put under review.
Ursula von der Leyen, chairwoman of the commission, subsequently said that while «humanitarian support for the Palestinian people is beyond doubt», it will be reviewed to ensure that no one goes to Hamas or any terrorist organization.
The issue appears to have exposed cracks among the Brussels elite, with Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, saying the funds «will not be withdrawn.»
The European Commission has been contacted for comment.
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