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European states funding Palestinian legal battles against Israel in Hague

The organization’s mission is to “flood the occupation with hundreds and thousands of lawsuits that will incriminate and convict it.”

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

European government money is being used to fund Palestinian legal battles against the state of Israel in the International Criminal Court, Israel Hayom reported Wednesday.

According to watchdog group NGO Monitor, the Swiss government donated $700,000 to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights from 2018 to 2020.

In an agreement between the Swiss government and the PCHR, the organization promised to use the funds for “communicating with the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Tribunal… send documents and communicate with the Tribunal… and submit lawsuits in international forums.”

The PCHR’s website states that their work “is conducted through documentation and investigation of human rights violations… and preparation of research articles relevant to such issues as the human rights situation and the rule of law.”

However, the PCHR has filed numerous lawsuits in the International Criminal Court, repeatedly calling on Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to personally respond to their motions, as far back as 2013.

PCHR and similar organizations receive funds from the governments of Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden. Israel Hayom reports that these organizations’ missions are to “flood the occupation with hundreds and thousands of lawsuits that will incriminate and convict it.”

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The al-Mizan, another NGO, filed human rights violations lawsuits against Israel in The Hague, paid for by the Dutch government.

The NGO Monitor report says that these funds are often classed as “legal aid,” without explicitly stating that the goal is to launch International Criminal Court lawsuits against Israel.

Ann Herzberg, Legal Adviser to NGO Monitor, told Israel Hayom that, “Contributing states should take responsibility for obstacles that prevent Israel from protecting its citizens from Palestinian terrorism.”

In May, a report by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs warned that funds donated to Palestinian aid organizations, from both European states and private donors, are being used to support terrorism.

The report came on the heels of an announcement by the European Union that it will continue funding Palestinian nonprofits, even if said nonprofits have links to terrorist organizations.

An August report by NGO Monitor found that the European Union donated 5.5 million euros in 2019 to various groups dedicated to promoting “Palestinian identity in Jerusalem.”