Just two days prior to Israel’s designation of six Palestinian Authority “humanitarian organizations” as branches of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization, the NGO Monitor watchdog organization identified not six, but 13 NGOs linked to the PFLP.
The groups were all funded by European and in some cases other governmental frameworks, NGO Monitor said.
Israel Declares 6 NGOs as Terror Groups — US, EU, UN Not Happy
“As of September 1 2021, we have also identified over 70 staff and board members, as well as other officials who hold positions in both the NGOs and the PFLP,” NGO Monitor said in a full-page post on its website.
The information below is based on open sources, including social media posts. More complete details can be found by clicking here.
1. Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)
Identified by Fatah as an official “affiliate” and by USAID as the “agricultural arm” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Staff:
- Abdul Razeq Farraj was UAWC’s Finance and Administration Director at the time of his arrest in 2019 for aiding an attempt to cause death and recruiting new members of the PFLP.
- Samer Arbid, UAWC’s accountant from 2016-2019 at the time of his arrest in 2019. Israel indicted him on 21 counts, including commanding a PFLP terror cell that carried out a bombing, murdering an Israeli civilian, and injuring her father and brother.
- Ubai Aboudi – “M&E [Monitoring and Evaluation] Officer” — was sentenced by Israel in June 2020 to 12-months for recruiting PFLP activists.
Funding:
France, Netherlands, Spain (AECID), Norwegian People’s Aid, Medico, Grassroots International, Oxfam Solidarité, UN OCHA.
2. Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P)
Staff/Board Members:
- Hashem Abu Maria was “coordinator of DCI-Palestine’s community mobilization unit,” and hailed by the PFLP as a “leader.” In July 2014, he was killed during a clash with the IDF.
- Nassar Ibrahim, former President of DCI-P’s General Assembly and former editor of El Hadaf – the PFLP’s weekly publication.
- Mary Rock was a DCI-P board member from 2014-2018, PFLP candidate for the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 elections.
Funding:
EU, Italy, Netherlands, Broederlijk Delen (Belgium), Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Save the Children, UNICEF
3. Health Work Committees (HWC)
Staff
- Waleed Hanatsheh was Financial and Administrative Director of HWC at the time of his arrest in October 2019; charged with participating in 2019 terror attack in which Rina Schnerb was murdered.
- Ahmad Maslamani, HWC’s co-founder and former director in the West Bank, and a “Central Committee member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.”
- Daoud Ghoul, HWC’s former “director of youth programs” and “director of the development projects and programs in Jerusalem.” In 2016, Ghoul was sentenced to 18-months imprisonment.
Funding:
Austria, European Union, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Japan, NGO Development Center, Diakonia, DanChurchAid, ICCO (Netherlands), Medical Aid for Palestinian (MAP), SODePAZ, MIFTAH, Oxfam, and the United Nations.
4. Union of Health Workers Committees (UHWC)
Identified by Fatah as an official PFLP “affiliate” and by USAID as the “the PFLP’s health organization.”
Staff:
- Rabah Muhanna – an UHWC “founder” and “former head” – member of PFLP political bureau.
- Magdi Yaghi – UHWC board’s treasurer, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors (2016). Referred to by the PFLP as a “member of the regional command.”
- Fadi Al Ajrami, former member of UHWC’s Board of Directors, and “Central Committee of the Popular Front” according to the PFLP.
Funding:
Viva Salud (Belgium), Basque Agency for Development Cooperation (Spain), Oxfam Solidarité, Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), NGO Development Center (NDC), AECID, UN OCHA oPt Humanitarian Fund.
5. Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC)
Identified by Fatah as an official “affiliate” and by USAID as the “women’s organization” of the PFLP.
Staff:
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- Suhair Khader, as of October 2020, UPWC’s Vice President and “member of the Central Committee of the PFLP.”
- Samira Abdel-Alim, UPWC head of Rafah area and board member, member of PFLP Central Committee.
- Ismat Shakhshir, head of UPWC’s operations in Nablus district, ran for “the PLC [Palestinian Legislative Council] seat at the 2006 election representing the PFLP but did not pass.”
Funding:
Basque Government (Basque Agency for Development Cooperation), Norway (via Norwegian People’s Aid), AECID.
6. Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)
Staff:
- Raji Sourani, Founder and Director of PCHR, served three years (1979-1982) in an Israeli prison for PFLP membership.
- Jaber Wishah, PCHR Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, previously served as “the head of the military wing of the [PFLP] in Gaza.” In 1985, Israel sentenced him to life in prison; he was released in 1999.
- Khalil Shahin, PCHR’s former Head of Economic and Social Rights Unit until 2019, spoke at a 2013 seminar organized by the PFLP.
Funding:
European Union, Ireland, Spain, France (Consulate General), Open Society Institute, Christian Aid (UK), DanChurchAid (Denmark), Grassroots International, Kvinna Till Kvinna (Sweden), Trocaire (Ireland), Oxfam Novib (Netherlands), Misereor (Germany), and the United Nations (OCHA, OHCHR, UNDP, UN Women).
7. Al-Dameer
Staff:
- Younis al-Jarro, Al-Dameer’s former Chairman of the Board and a “former leader” of the PFLP.
- Maher Al-Attar – Chairman of Al-Dameer’s Board as of August 2020 and Head of the PFLP’s DALJ (Democratic Union of Lawyers and Jurists) as of February 2019.
- Ilham Jarghoun is Al-Dameer Vice Chairman of the Board since December 2019. In March 2021, Jarghoun was placed fifth on the PFLP’s electoral list.
Funding:
European Union, Switzerland, National Endowment for Democracy (United States), and the UNDP “Joint Program /Sawasya.” received funding from now-defunct Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat.
8. ADDAMEER
A PFLP “affiliate.”
Staff:
- Abdul-Latif Ghaith, Addameer’s Founder and former Chairperson, and PFLP “activist”.
- Khalida Jarrar, Addameer’s former Vice-chairperson and the “head of the PFLP in the West Bank.” In March 2021 Israel sentenced Jarrar to 2 years in prison for membership in the PFLP. She was released in September 2021.
- Bashir Al-Khairi, a member of Addameer’s Board of Directors, is referred to as a “member of PFLP’s National Council.”
Funding:
Ireland, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the Heinrich Boll Foundation (Germany). Also received funding from the now-defunct Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat.
9. Al-Haq
Staff:
- Shawan Jabarin, Al-Haq’s General Director, convicted in 1985 for recruiting and arranging training for PFLP members. In 2008, referred to by Israel’s Supreme Court as a “senior activist” in the PFLP.
Funding:
European Union, Norway, Ireland, Italy, France, and Spain.
10. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Declared a terrorist organization and “a subsidiary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)” by the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Staff:
- Khaled Barakat, identified in 2013 by the PFLP as “coordinator” of Samidoun, “is involved with establishing militant cells and motivating terrorist activity in Judea & Samaria and abroad.” According to Fatah, he is a member of the central committee of the PFLP.
- Mustafa Awad, a Belgian activist with Samidoun in 2016, arrested after attempting to enter Israel in 2018; accused of PFLP involvement and participating in a Hezbollah course; later sentenced to one year in prison.
- Mohammed Khatib, Samidoun’s coordinator in Europe, is a PFLP member.
Funding:
NOTE: Samidoun does not publish financial information, nor is it registered in the US, Europe, or Canada.
11. Bisan Center for Research and Development
Staff:
- Ubai Aboudi, Bisan’s Executive Director, was sentenced in 2020 to 12 months for membership in the PFLP from 2016-2019, was responsible for recruiting activists to the organization and strengthening its infrastructure.
- Itiraf Hajaj (Rimawi) – Bisan’s previous Executive Director. In 2019, Rimawi was arrested as responsible for clandestine PFLP operations; in 2020, sentenced to 42 months. Additionally, a 2016 Israeli High Court of Justice decision [HCJ-2524/16] referred to Rimawi as a “PFLP member” who “posed a security threat.”
Funding:
European Union, European Commission, Belgium, Italy, and Spain.
12. Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
Staff:
- Kamal El-Sharafi, Chairman of Al Mezan’s Board, participated in the memorial service for prominent PFLP figure Ali Darwish in 2019.
- Jamil Sarhan, Al Mezan’s Treasurer – member of the DULJ (see Al-Dameer above).
- Hussein Hammad, Al Mezan’s North Gaza District Officer and Delegate to the Mobilization and Technical Assistance Unit. According to the PFLP website, he joined “the PFLP at the beginning of the First Intifada… and participated in many military operations that hurt the enemy [Israel]….”
Funding:
European Union, Netherlands, Save the Children Norway, Diakonia (Sweden), UN-OCHA, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Medico International (Germany).
NOTE: Until 2017, Al Mezan received funding from the now defunct Human Rights and International Law Secretariat.
13. Abdel Shafi Community Health Association (ACHA)
Formerly the Red Crescent Society for the Gaza Strip (RCS4GS)
Staff:
- Bakr Abu Safiya – former ACHA board member who, as of August 2020, held the role consultant surgeon at UHWC’s Al-Awda hospital; listed 9th on the PFLP electoral list, “The People’s Pulse”, for the Palestinian Legislative Council.
- Tariq Abu al-Khair, ACHA board member as of June 2020; 2016-2018 Chairman of Board of Directors of the PFLP-linked UHWC.
- Hashem Thalathini, ACHA’s “treasurer,” listed as a board member of the PFLP-linked PCHR.
Funding:
European Union, World Bank, UNDP.