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Report by Israeli watchdog triggers EU
turmoil over funding of NGOs linked to terrorist groups.
NGO Monitor data prompts Brussels to
order its envoys in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to investigate if EU funds are
reaching organizations affiliated with Palestinian terrorist groups. EU
Ambassador to Israel Emanuel Joffre: If there is evidence of improper use of EU
funds we will investigate them.
The EU on Tuesday ordered its
representatives in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to investigate whether EU funds are
reaching organizations affiliated with Palestinian terrorist groups.
The move follows a report by NGO
Monitor, a watchdog group that promotes greater
transparency among foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations operating in
Israel.
The watchdog recently
exposed an EU letter to an
umbrella organization of 142 leading Palestinian NGOs assuring them that, even
if a Palestinian NGO applying for EU grants is an affiliate of EU-designated
terrorist groups or employs individuals from these groups, the EU will still provide the
organization with funds and legitimacy.
After the
information became public, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement
Oliver Varhelyi stated that the EU "will have to conduct an in-depth
review, and if there is any concern we will act immediately. ... This [funding
terrorism] will not be tolerated. And if it happens it will have to be
rectified."
The Commission for
Neighborhood and Enlargement is in charge of overseeing the accession process
of prospective member states and relations with states bordering the European
Union. The commission's policy is directed towards candidate states along the
EU's eastern border and on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Following the
exposé on how the EU was potentially skirting the ban on financing
terrorism, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem had summoned EU Ambassador to
Israel Emanuel Joffre, asking for clarifications on the matter.
Tuesday saw
Joffre reiterate that "if there is evidence of improper use of EU
funds we will investigate them."
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