NGOs call for resumption of aid payments in the Middle East
Published: Friday, Nov 17th 2023, 17:30
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In an open letter, 15 Swiss aid organizations and associations active in the Middle East are calling on the Federal Council to resume aid payments for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The payments were suspended by the national government at the end of October due to the massacres carried out by the radical Islamic group Hamas in Israel.
According to the letter, which is available to the Keystone-SDA news agency, the Confederation has not provided a factual and comprehensible explanation for the suspension of payments.
In the letter, the aid organizations also call on the Federal Council to create complete transparency about the basis on which the decision to "suspend" the funding of eleven long-standing and audited partner organizations of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Israel and the Palestinian territories was made.
The suspension would not only damage the reputation of those affected, but would also send a negative signal to other donors, the report continued. Furthermore, Switzerland would lose credit as a reliable partner in international cooperation.
The 15 signatories included AllianceSud, the Swiss-Palestinian Association, the Swiss Protestant Reformed Church Relief Organization (HEKS) and the Swiss Platform for Peacebuilding (KOFF).
In addition, a petition with over 14,000 signatures was submitted on Wednesday, which also demands that the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) resume financial support for its long-standing partner organizations in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
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