No more German money for Palestinian human rights NGOs
Disappointment, frequently mixed with incomprehension and anger: this has been the most common reaction to Germany within Palestinian civil society in recent weeks. The emotional response stems from the fact that the German government placed itself firmly on the side of Israel after Hamas' terrorist attack on 7 October 2023 and ‒ in the opinion of many Palestinians ‒ adopted a one-sided stance in the process and remains silent on Israeli crimes in the Gaza war.
The feelings of resentment are targeted even more specifically at the institutions of German development co-operation, even though the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) announced just a few weeks ago that support will be resumed. Minister Svenja Schulze had suspended this support immediately after 7 October to ensure that no funding from Germany benefits Hamas or other terrorist groups. In a press release dated 13 December, the ministry announced that the review that followed had found no indications of the misuse of funding, adding that "the BMZ's strict safeguards have proven robust."
But this self-praise was only part of the truth. Research conducted by the German broadsheet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) has shown that a significant proportion of Germany's co-operation with Palestinian civil society was quite simply stopped by the BMZ and the Foreign Office. In doing so, the two ministries complied with a long-expressed wish of Israel that had, for a time, led to discord within the German government.
Anger within German implementing organisations
This would now appear to be resolved – at least according to the "Report on the review and approval process of the BMZ portfolio for the Palestinian territories" dated 11 December. The document, which was categorised as classified information and which the FAZ has seen, provides details of the review of almost 160 development co-operation projects. Some of these projects were funded via bilateral state support and some via what are known in the sector as "implementing organisations", in this case German non-governmental organisations and German political foundations.
The report states that "another intense review did not find any instances of abuse either" and that this was confirmed, among others, by the German Foreign Intelligence Service. Nevertheless, a few pages later, the report categorically states that "new co-operations with the six non-governmental organisations designated by Israel as terrorist organisations (...) will no longer be approved. In the case of ongoing cooperation (...) the BMZ will work through dialogue towards an immediate stop by the organisations before the end of the term."
In concrete terms, this means that some of the most important civil society organisations in Palestine will be excluded from support. One staff member in a German organisation that is active in the development co-operation sector had this to say on the situation: "We consider it very dangerous to end the partnership with human rights organisations in a period of increased human rights violations. It is also injurious to Germany's image."
Behind this decision is a conflict between Israel and Germany and other Western countries that has been going on for several years. In October 2021, Israel designated six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organisations. The list included renowned human rights organisations such as Al-Haq. According to Israeli allegations, the six NGOs are cover organisations for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and have diverted aid funds to the PFLP.
There was criticism from abroad when Israel announced this surprising designation, and this criticism did not abate when Israel presented material in Western capitals that was intended to corroborate the allegations of terrorism. On the contrary: in July 2022, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the foreign ministers of eight other EU countries issued a joint statement saying that no substantial information had been received from Israel that would justify these nine countries reviewing their policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs.
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Ministerial wrangling
There was criticism from abroad when Israel announced this surprising designation, and this criticism did not abate when Israel presented material in Western capitals that was intended to corroborate the allegations of terrorism. On the contrary: in July 2022, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the foreign ministers of eight other EU countries issued a joint statement saying that no substantial information had been received from Israel that would justify these nine countries reviewing their policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs.
However, the Israeli emissaries met with a more sympathetic ear in a different German ministry – the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, where co-operation between the German and Israeli security services is fostered, the information provided was deemed credible. This resulted in a stalemate within the government regarding the approval of support projects for the affected NGOs.
The Hamas attack on Israel and the war in the Gaza Strip have now resolved this stalemate. The FAZ has spoken with staff members in a number of German organisations that are either directly or indirectly affected by the decision. In at least three cases, the BMZ and the Foreign Office recently did not approve new support relating to several of the six NGOs.
In addition, support for another Palestinian NGO was rejected, even though it was not on the list of six NGOs designated as terrorist organisations. This has caused anger and even resentment in some German implementing organisations. There was criticism of both the decision itself and the way that decision was communicated, which in some cases was verbally and without the provision of an obvious reason.
Eliminated in the wake of 7 October
Responding to an enquiry, a spokesperson for the BMZ told the FAZ that the German government had in fact "decided before 7 October 2023 not to continue supporting the co-operation with these six organisations". However, there is no information about such a decision. Indeed, several things point to the fact that the "problem" of the six NGOs was eliminated in the wake of 7 October and the review of German development co-operation.
The Foreign Office's assessment of the six NGOs has not changed: it still does not see them as terrorist organisations. On the contrary, the Foreign Office sees them as pillars of Palestinian civil society. In view of the overall political climate after 7 October, the Foreign Office had more important things to do than become further embroiled in discussions with the Ministry of the Interior.
At the same time, the Israeli government has succeeded in stepping up its influence on the German decision-making process. A spokesperson for the BMZ confirmed to the FAZ in December that Israel had been involved in the review of development co-operation in the form of "regular meetings" with the Israeli Embassy in Berlin. Moreover, the BMZ report says that when prioritising the review process, priority was given to "taking Israeli interests into consideration".
Increase control over the occupied territories
One female employee of a German organisation that is active in the Palestinian territories called this part of the report "alarming" and "astonishing". Some observers from the development co-operation sector have long believed that by designating the six NGOs as terrorist organisations, Israel wanted to ensure that it had a say in the flow of funding from abroad. The occupier wants to increase its control of civil society in the Palestinian territories.
This is why German organisations fear that the decision to ban support could well be extended beyond the NGOs affected thus far. "The fact that Germany caved in on this is very dangerous," said one. "It could encourage Israel to further restrict the space for civil society."
Calls to boycott German institutions
Some Palestinian organisations, however, made it easy for the German government to give in to Israeli demands. Al-Haq and other NGOs chose extremely strong words for their criticism of Israel after 7 October – language that obviously crossed a red line in Germany's eyes.
In two open letters published last autumn, which were signed by numerous NGOs in the Near and Middle East, Israel is accused of conducting a campaign of destruction in the Gaza Strip.
The letters, known in the sector by the names "181" and "255" – numbers that are a reference to the number of signatories – use terms such as "apartheid" or "genocide". They also deny Israel's right to self-defence, while emphasising the Palestinians' right to armed resistance.
The BMZ classified both letters as "anti-Israel incitement". Both the BMZ and the Foreign Office then required development co-operation organisations to report whether any of their partner organisations had signed the letters. If they had, they were asked whether they distanced themselves from the content. If they did not, they would be excluded from further support for the time being. This happened in at least one case.
Several development co-operation workers criticised this approach as a test to determine people's convictions. One German summed up the reaction of a partner organisation in Gaza as follows: "We are at war here and we are now supposed to adopt a position that is pleasing to the German government – otherwise we won't get any more money." Another said that the letters "reflect a widely held attitude in the MENA region". The person in question stressed that this was not their personal opinion, but that the arguments in question were largely founded on a legal basis. "We have to tolerate such attitudes."
The attitude towards Germany continues to deteriorate. Calls to boycott German institutions and Palestinian institutions that co-operate with Germany are circulating on the Internet. Several German institutions in Ramallah have taken down the German flag for security reasons. In at least one case, a German organisation has already lost a partner because that partner no longer wanted to receive German funding.
© FAZ/Qantara.de 2024
Translated from the German by Aingeal Flanagan