Overview

  • The stated aim of Norwegian foreign policy in Israel and the Palestinian Authority is support for the Middle East Peace Process and “to contribute to a two-state solution.”
  • In 2007 (the latest available data on NORAD’s website), the “Palestinian Administered Areas” received NOK 622 million in bilateral assistance.  Of this, approximately NOK 166 is channeled through NGOs.
  • NGO Monitor’s detailed analyses of the activities of these Norwegian, Palestinian, Israeli, and international NGOs demonstrate that in many cases, these programs are counterproductive to development, coexistence, and cooperation.

Norwegian NGOs

  • Norwegian People’s Aid (NOK 112 million in 2007) NPA accuses Israel of “War Crimes” and promotes the Stop the Wall Campaign in Norway, which employs the slogan: “Tear the Wall in Palestine. Did you think Apartheid was history?” NPA also supports numerous groups active in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
  • NORWAC – receives funding from Norway ostensibly to provide health-care services in partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Health. During the Gaza war, Mads Gilbert, who has been praised by FM Jonas Gahr and whose activity was funded by Norway, reportedly pointed out that “[a]ccording to President Shimon Peres, the implementation of the war, went 90 percent according to plan. The intention, in other words, was to kill 90 percent of the civilians.” He also referred to Israeli drones as “horrible Israeli devil machines.”
  • Norwegian Refugee Council – In 2008, NRC allocated NOK 925,000 to the “Palestine Territories,” all of which was provided by the Norwegian MFA. NRC was a signatory to a statement, reflecting distortions of international law, which “urge[s] all responsible parties including the State of Israel which remains the occupying power with ‘effective control’ of Gaza, to refrain from actions that collectively punish civilians.”
  • Norwegian Church Aid (NOK 298.4 in 2007) After the Hamas takeover of Gaza, NCA criticized the Norwegian government for “withdrawing economic support” to the “Hamas government.”
  • Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) ($412,042 in 2008) IDMC co-published a study on the security barrier with the radical “right of return” NGO Badil calling the barrier “a crime against humanity” and a “war crime,” and failing to weigh the context of widespread Palestinian terrorism that led to the construction of the barrier.

Palestinian NGOs: Funded through Norwegian Representative Office

  • Al Mezan – Lists Norway as a “core donor.” During the Gaza war, Al Mezan issued numerous press releases, including allegations of “Israeli massacres,” “slaughtering civilians,” “scandalous war crimes,” and “despicable disregard to civilian life.”
  • Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) PCHR regularly refers to rocket attacks on Israeli civilians as “resistance.” PCHR is a leader in the “lawfare” strategy of exploiting universal jurisdiction statutes to bring cases against Israeli political and military officials for “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.”
  • Miftah Described Israel as an apartheid state, has referred to suicide bombers as “resistance activists,”  was active in the 2001 Durban Conference, and has accused Israel of committing a “massacre” during the Gaza war.
  • Al Haq ($83,000 in 2008) Al Haq lists boycotts among its goals and objectives, and is a leader in the anti-Israel “lawfare” to interfere in the diplomatic relations between Israel and countries such as the UK by bringing lawsuits against UK officials to block trade with Israel. Its general director, Shawan Jabarin, has been denied exit visas by Israel and Jordan on account of his alleged ties to the PFLP terror group.

Israeli NGOs: Funded through the Norwegian MFA

  • B’Tselem (NIS 888,728 2006-2008) This NGO “acts primarily to change Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories,” a political objective. While widely considered Israel’s premier human-rights organization, B’Tselem has faced serious criticism for its misrepresentations of international law, inaccurate research, skewed statistics (including casualty lists), and selective coverage of violations against Israelis. These problematic methodologies reinforce the Palestinian narrative of victimization and portray Israel as the sole impediment to peace.
  • Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) (NIS 798,867 2007-2008) During the recent Gaza operation, PCATI accused Israel of inflicting “indiscriminate damage” on “innocent Palestinian civilians” and deliberately targeting medical personnel and ambulances.
  • Gisha (NIS 794,891 2006-2008) Gisha issues pseudo-legal briefs to attack Israeli policies. Gisha promotes the false claims that Israel is responsible for “occupied” Gaza under international law, and that Israel is under a legal obligation to grant “freedom of movement” to Gaza residents.
  • HaMoked (NIS 1,860,020 2006-2007) HaMoked accuses Israel of “war crimes” with only a token reference to Hamas’ “sporadic” rocket fire against Israel civilians. HaMoked called the Gaza war a “punitive operation” and promoted the unverified claim that “[m]any prisoners … were held in pits in the ground … apparently dug by the army.” During the Gaza war, HaMoked distorted international law to criminalize Israeli actions, falsely claiming that “phosphorous and cluster bombs” are “illegal weapons prohibited by International Humanitarian Law.”

Transparency problems

  • A 2009 review of NORAD found that “[t]he complex administrative management of MFA/Norad grants makes it difficult for the different sections within MFA/Norad to have a complete picture of the support to civil society organizations.”
  • This review also revealed that several of the grantees stated their preference for Norwegian government backing, “as most other donors have stricter and more time consuming procedures for changes of projects, and are also less prone to finance projects that can be politically sensitive.”