Belgium’s Minister of Development, Meryame Kitir, has told a Committee of the Federal Parliament that an investigation is underway into whether Belgian development aid may have been used to finance terrorist activities of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
During a session of the External Relations Committee, Belgian MP, Kathleen Depoorter, asked Kitir about the allegations concerning humanitarian funds being diverted to terror groups. Depoorter told the Committee that a number of NGOs were alleged to have “regularly received funding from Western Europe, while operating at least in part as a cover for activities of the Popular Front”.
Minister Maryame Kitir
Belgium’s Directorate-General for Development Cooperation does not fund Palestinian NGOs directly, but funds them via third parties. Minister Kitir told the Committee that in the past five years 6 million Euro was spent on funding Belgian organisations active in Palestinian territories.
The Minister said the four Palestinian NGOs with active links to Belgium are:
-
HWC, a partner of the Belgian NGO Viva Salud
-
Bisan, a partner of Viva Salud
-
Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P), a partner of Broederlijk Delen
-
Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a partner of Oxfam through humanitarian funding.