EU Funds Groups Linked to Palestinian Terrorism, Israel Says
- In response, EU says its financing does not support terrorism
- Norwegian group paid fine to avoid ‘more costly’ legal process
A Palestinian protesters readies his slingshot near Beit El, in Ramallah, West Bank, in April 6.
Photographer: Geraldine Hope Ghelli/BloombergEuropean Union institutions have given millions of euros annually to non-governmental organizations with ties to Palestinian terrorist groups and that support boycotts of Israel, according to Gilad Erdan, Israel’s minister for strategic affairs and public diplomacy.
Examples include Norwegian People’s Aid, which received 1.76 million euros in EU aid in 2016, Erdan said in a 40-page report issued Friday. The group carried out a project with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is classified as a terrorist group by the EU and U.S. The Norwegian group also provided services to Iran’s energy sector, Erdan said. It was fined $2 million in April by the U.S. Department of Justice because of the links.