Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP)

Profile

Country/TerritoryPalestinian Authority
Websitehttp://www.gcmhp.net/
Founded1990 by Dr. Eyed el-Sarraj
In their own wordsAims “to enhance the capacity of the community in dealing with mental health problems based on the principles of justice, humanity, and respect for human rights… through working with three major [Palestinian] target groups: children, women, and victims of organized violence and torture.”

Funding

Activities

  • Uses unsubstantiated medical claims as an avenue to criticize the Israeli government, including allegations that the Jewish state engages in “collective punishment” “massacres,” and “war crimes.”

Political Advocacy

  • GCMHP has repeatedly endorsed, promoted, and received funding from BDS campaigns and released a statement stating: “It is essential to boycott Israeli products as an effective measure to hinder the economy feeding the war crime machinery behind the massacres.”
  • In January 2021, GCMHP, alongside a number of Palestinian organizations, issued a declaration that the “Vaccine Roll-Out Exposes Israel’s Inhumane Acts of Apartheid.” The NGOs falsely claim that Israel has “legal obligations” to “ensure that quality vaccines be provided to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation and control,” while altogether ignoring that Palestinians residing in Jerusalem are part of the Israeli health care system; that under the Oslo Accords the PA is responsible for health care of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza; and that the PA has adopted its own vaccine policy for its population.
  • In January 2021, in the context of the violence on the Gaza border, GCMHP published a report titled “The Mental Health Situation of the People affected by Violence in the context of demonstrations at the perimeter fence of Gaza Strip.” The report accused Israel of “Violence against palestinian participants,” placing sole blame on Israel for all resulting effects of the protests. GCMHP ignored the violent nature of the protests, which consisted of an organized armed attack on the Israeli border and IDF positions, attempts to destroy and breach the border fence, and sustained arson, rocket, and mortar attacks on Israeli civilian communities.
  • In January 2015, PHR-I published “Gaza, 2014: Findings of an Independent medical fact-finding mission,” alleging Israeli violations of human rights and international legal norms during the 2014 Gaza War. GCMHP is listed as having provided “Fieldwork and research coordination” for the report.
    • The report provides no proof or evidence for the serious charges contained within it. The report contains fundamental methodological flaws, ignores Hamas violations, and relies on “experts” that have demonstrated anti-Israel biases.
  • In March 2013, GCMHP published the 85th issue of Amwaj Magazine, which included a report on “Israeli Aggression on Gaza” that highlights “the role of effective resistance during the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza, in addition to the psychological and social effects of this aggression against citizens of the Gaza Strip.”
  • In April 2011, published an article on its website, “War Crimes and Tragedy: The Occupation of Palestine,” in which the author claims: “We can no longer remain silent nor turn our backs and pretend ignorance to a gruesome occupation of stolen land, the cruelest collective punishment in the open-air sewer prison where Palestinians once lived in peace.  The situation has deteriorated as we observe Jewish settlers who spew their hate with such revulsion and racism on Palestinian families, it makes my stomach turn.”
  • Eyad Sarraj, president of the GCMHP is on the Board of Advisors of “Free Gaza Movement,” a radical group of internationals who organize flotillas to “directly challenge the Israel siege by initiating confrontations with the Israeli navy.”
  • Signed a statement following the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla incident, stating: “We, from Gaza, call on you to demonstrate and support the courageous men and women on the Flotilla and join the, many now murdered on a humanitarian aid mission. We insist on severance of diplomatic ties with Israel, trials for war crimes and the International protection of the civilians of Gaza. We call on you to join the growing international boycott, divestment and sanction campaign of a country proving again to be so violent and yet so unchallenged.”
  • In November 2005, GCMHP joined with PHR-I to petition the High Court of Israel to stop the sonic booms, which were introduced as an alternative to combat responses to terrorists firing missiles into Israel. In petitioning the court, GCMHP and PHR-I were following a central part of the Durban Strategy: portraying non-lethal, harm-reducing measures by Israel as violations of international law.
  • GCMHP signed the “Palestinian Civil Society Call for BDS” in 2005.

Staff

Partners

  • Member of the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), which was instrumental in producing many of the preparatory documents for the Durban 2001 conference including the document calling for embargoes on Israel.
    • In January 2020, PNGO vehemently opposed a new clause in European Union grant contracts with Palestinian NGOs that prohibits grantees from working with and funding organizations and individuals designated on the EU’s terror lists. According to media reports, PNGO claimed that Palestinian terrorist organizations are “political parties.”
    • In April 2017, PNGO called on the international community not to “use aid to undermine legitimate Palestinian resistance.” According to PNGO, “We reject all de-legitimization or criminalization of lawful Palestinian resistance, whether in form of allegations of terrorism, anti-semitism or otherwise… We call on all governments and aid providers to respect our right to lawful resistance, support Palestinian human rights defenders, and ensure equal, impartial and transparent access to funding for all.”
    • In March 2016, as a member of Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), PNGO stated that “Israel’s current government, its most racist ever, has dropped all pretences of ‘enlightenment’ and ‘democracy’. This has helped to expose Israel’s regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid to world public opinion like never before.”

Funding (amounts in $)

Donor20202019
Switzerland600,000600,000
Sweden855,616864,674
Norway217,875251,505
Grassroots International50,00045,000
United Nations Voluntary Fund55,00055,000
Trocaire105,00067,575
Germany232,788286,293
OCHA274,449426,933
Norwegian Refugee Council16,70025,660
Bread for the World364,650

Footnotes

  1. While PHR-I and GCMHP are medical NGOs, it is unclear why the Seventh Eye was selected for participation in this project. The organization describes itself as an “independent and investigative magazine devoted entirely to Journalism, the Media, Freedom of Speech and Transparency.”  It is unclear how the EU intends for this NGO to contribute to “the positive engagement and professional cooperation of Palestinians and Israelis, enhancing health.”

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