European countries are funding a network of NGOs with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a recognized terrorist organization, according to a unique research report published today by NGO Monitor. Some have direct affiliations with the PFLP, while others have employees and key officials linked to the PFLP.

NGO Monitor found that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including Addameer, Al-Haq, Alternative Information Center (AIC), Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P), Health Work Committee (HWC), Stop the Wall, Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) are either directly affiliated with the PFLP or have a substantial presence of employees and officials connected to the terrorist group.

According to Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor, “The clear affiliation between these NGOs and the PFLP requires immediate attention and concrete measures on the part of European funders. Any continued funding raises serious questions about due diligence and evaluation on the part of European governments and the UN, as well as compliance with domestic and international laws.”

The NGO ties to the PFLP range from establishment and operation of NGOs by the PFLP itself to NGO officials and staffers being convicted of terrorism charges by Israeli courts. Examples include Abdul-latif Ghaith, chairperson and co-founder of the official PFLP “affiliate” Addameer, as well as Al Haq’s General Director, Shawan Jabarin. On July 7, 2008, the Israeli Supreme Court noted that Jabarin is “among the senior activists of the Popular Front terrorist organization. A June 2007 decision by the Israeli Supreme Court called Jabarin a “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” a human rights campaigner by day and a PFLP activist by night.

The PFLP is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel and is involved in suicide bombings, hijackings, and assassinations, among other terrorist activities targeting civilians.

Prof. Steinberg concluded, “Distributing large amounts of European tax-payer money into the hands of individuals affiliated with a recognized terrorist group and hoping for the best does not benefit either Israeli or Palestinian and instead further enables the prolongation of the conflict. Until independent reviews of the processes that allowed funding for these NGOs can be conducted, funding to these organizations with terror ties should be halted.”

NGO Monitor provides information and analysis, promotes accountability, and supports discussion on the reports and activities of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) claiming to advance human rights and humanitarian agendas.