[US AID has been asked to respond as to whether this will mean that US AID will indeed cut off aid to these agencies. We await their answer. DSB]

Palestinian nongovernmental organizations are refusing to sign a US-sponsored commitment stating they will not transfer funds to individuals or groups that engage in terrorism.

The organizations said Saturday they are planning a popular campaign in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to express their opposition to the document.

These organizations include social welfare groups within the Palestinian Authority, as well as independent NGOs funded mostly by the US and the EU.

The US and some EU countries lately informed the Palestinian NGOs that, prior to entering into funding agreements, they must sign the pledge, which is entitled “Certification Regarding Terrorist Financing.”

According to the document, the Palestinian NGOs pledge not to “provide material support or resources to any individual or entity that advocates, plans, sponsors, engages in, or has engaged in terrorist activity, including but not limited to individuals and entities,” based on the US Executive Order 13224.

One of the appendixes to the pledge includes the names of bodies and groups the US considers to be linked to terrorism and, therefore, prohibits any cooperation with them. It lists Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades (the armed wing of Fatah), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine as some of the terrorist groups.

The new conditions set for financing the NGOs have enraged the Palestinians, who accuse the US of trying to blackmail them by asking them to sign the antiterror document.

A statement issued by one of the major “coordinating committees” of the Palestinian NGOs called for a series of meetings to begin on Monday to discuss the antiterrorism commitment and how to put pressure on Washington to scrap it.

The statement was signed by the Palestinian NGO Network, which includes the General Union of Palestinian Charitable Societies, the National Institute for Palestinian NGOs, the Aman Coalition for Integrity and Accountability, and the Woman Affairs Technical Committees. The protests are to take place in Ramallah, Jerusalem, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Kalkilya, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Gaza City.

“While NGOs are against any form of terrorism, including state terrorism practiced by the Israeli army against Palestinians, it is imperative to note that Palestinian NGOs have affirmed their opposition, on several occasions, to any and all acts of violence against civilians ­ whether Israelis, Palestinians, or internationals,” said a statement issued by a large number of Palestinian NGOs.

“It is not clear on what basis and upon which criteria the definition of ‘terrorist acts’ has been set, especially in light of Israeli attempts to portray the struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom and independence as ‘violent and terrorist acts,’ ” the statement added.

“Palestinian NGOs are developmental organizations that aid and empower Palestinian society through service-oriented activities and awareness raising, based on the principles of democracy, social justice, and respect for human rights.”

The NGOs said that any conditionality in funding beyond the accepted international norms and standards constitutes “a violation to the legality of funding, as the Palestinian NGO law prohibits accepting such conditions in obtaining funding from any international body.”

Some Palestinian NGOs have already declared that they would not sign the document. These include the Mizan Center for Human Rights, the Palestinian Red Crescent, and the Federation of Sanitation Activities.

Representatives of the three organizations said that they are not involved in any political activities and would therefore never sign the pledge, which, they argued, lacks any legal validity.

The director of the Mizan Center for Human Rights, Issam Yunis, said that there is no legal basis for this document. “This document should be boycotted by everyone, including the local authorities, political parties, and universities,” he said.

“These institutions should reject this document completely, as it puts them in great danger. We should publicize a list of any institutions that agree to the conditions in the document.”

This article ran in the Jerusalem Post on January 4th, 2004

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