Dutch Government Stops Funding Of Palestinian Rights Group

The Dutch Government disclosed that it has stopped funding one of the six major civil society and human rights organizations in Palestine.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Ramallah-based Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), which the Dutch government has been funding since 2013 disclosed that; "This is the first time a government ends its funding for Palestinian civil society based on political conditionality."

The UAWC group said it would consider legal steps to challenge the Dutch government’s "unfair decision”.

According to Aljazeera, the Dutch government’s decision followed an 18-month suspension of funding to the UAWC.

In July 2020, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation had ordered a review following the arrest of two Palestinian employees of the organisation.

The employees were accused of an August 2019 bomb attack that killed a 17-year-old Israeli girl.

The investigation conducted by the Dutch government began in February 2021. Its findings were eventually presented on Wednesday at the Dutch parliament.