Français
Español
English
Portuguese
Following the examples of UN, Norway and Denmark, Switzerland has cut funding to a Palestinian NGO that glorified a notorious terrorist.
Switzerland has decided to cease funding to a Palestinian organization due to its ties to terrorism, the Sonntags Zeitung reported.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry will no longer support the Human Rights International Humanitarian Law Secretariat, which has also received funding from several other European countries, because it funds the Women’s Technical Affairs Committee (WATC), a Palestinian NGO, which named a youth center located in the Palestinian town of Burqa after female terrorist Dalal Mughrabi.
Until an internal investigation into the actions of the Human Rights International Humanitarian Law Secretariat next month is completed, no further Swiss funding will reach the NGO, according to the report.
Mughrabi led a terror attack in Israel in 1978 that claimed 37 civilian lives, including many children. It was the most lethal attack in Israel’s history.
Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter said that he would “take a series of measures” to prevent groups that incite terrorism or anti-Semitism from receiving support from his country.
He added that he did not believe any such groups, including ones supporting boycotts of Israel, were receiving such aid from Switzerland.
This marks a stark departure from Bern’s prior policy of silence on the issue, the World Jewish Congress pointed out.
In June, both the Denmark and Norway broke off support for the center.
The center was funded in part by UN Women and Norway via the Palestinian Election Commission, supposedly to promote the participation of women in elections.
Similarly, The United Nations (UN) has pulled its support from the women’s center.
“The glorification of terrorism, or the perpetrators of heinous terrorist acts, is unacceptable under any circumstances,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stated in May.
“The UN has repeatedly called for an end to incitement to violence and hatred as they present one of the obstacles to peace,” he said.
Taking Pride in Terror
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry rejected the UN’s criticism, calling on the UN “to stop expressing the surprising and unacceptable positions and statements… These responses chose to adopt the Israeli narrative and terminology… and in an unprecedented manner publishes extremely strange and severe notices, and gives troubling signals of changes that have been taking place recently in the functioning and language of the UN.”
Ignoring the loss of funding, the head of the Burqa village council was adamant about keeping the name. Indeed, Chairman Sami Daghlas said they would rather return the funding than comply.
“If we are forced to choose between the aid and a name, we will return the aid to them, and we will not agree to conditional funding, because this type of funding kills the institutions… If we were to agree today to change the name, that would whet their (i.e. funding countries) appetite for additional extortion, and tomorrow they will interfere in our names and change the names of our cities and villages to biblical names,” said Daghlas, according to the Palestinian Information Center news site.
He also boasted that the name was specifically chosen to honor the terrorist.
By: United with Israel Staff
With files from the World Jewish Congress
Do You Love Israel? Make a Donation - Show Your Support!
Donate to vital charities that help protect Israeli citizens and inspire millions around the world to support Israel too!
Now more than ever, Israel needs your help to fight and win the war -- including on the battlefield of public opinion.
Antisemitism, anti-Israel bias and boycotts are out of control. Israel's enemies are inciting terror and violence against innocent Israelis and Jews around the world. Help us fight back!
