Organization Slams Denmark’s Plan to Stop Funding Palestinian NGOs

Copenhagen, MINA – Global Organization for Rights and Development on Sunday criticized the Danish government’s decision to cease giving financial aid to Palestinian NGOs following pressures from Israel.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Organization said that this decision “gives Israel the green light for further repressive measures against the Palestinian people”, PIC reported.

The Organization called on the Danish government to continue its financial and political support for the Palestinian people and not to succumb to what it called “Israeli blackmail”.

It also asked the European Union and its parliament to enact laws obliging its members to allocate financial budgets to support humanitarian sectors in the Palestinian territories.

Danish Foreign Ministry has officially announced its decision to suspend financial aid and tighten its conditions for donations to Palestinian NGOs following pressures from Israeli officials, including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Danish Foreign Minister, Anders Samuelsen, has said in a statement that he wants to be confident that the Danish aid goes for the “right purposes” and added that the Ministry, following comprehensive examination, had decided that there would be tight conditions for receiving Danish aid in the future.

Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs and member of the right-wing Likud party, Gilad Erdan, has described this move as an “important achievement for Israel” and asked the European Union to “act with equal moral responsibility and take similar steps”. (T/R04/RS5)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)