Danish coalition party calls for end to Palestinian development aid
The Danish Red Cross has called for restraint after one of Denmark’s coalition parties said the government should cut its Palestinian development aid following the attack on Israel by Hamas.
The foreign spokesman from the Liberal (Venstre) party, Michael Aastrup Jensen, said in a social media post that Denmark should not send any more development aid to the Palestinians and subsequently confirmed that this was the position of his party.
“The huge backing from Palestinians to Hamas, and the approval of the terror attack by the leader of the national authority, Abbas, must not be overlooked. We should therefore rescind all development aid to Palestine,” he told news wire Ritzau.
Opposition party Liberal Alliance also said on Monday that it wanted to cut development aid to Palestinian-administrated areas.
The general secretary of the Danish Red Cross, Anders Ladekarl, responded with a post on X, formerly Twitter, urging the country’s politicians to “hold their horses” before stopping aid to Palestinians.
“This aid is partly what provides ambulances and hospital treatment to innocent civilians. The aid that that makes it possible the Red Cross to push for access to prisoners of war and the release of hostages,” Ladekarl said.
It is currently unclear whether the other two coalition parties, the Social Democrats and Moderates, agree with the Liberals on cutting Palestinian aid in light of the Hamas attack on Israel.
The Danish foreign ministry meanwhile denied a report in Israeli media that it had refused to call Hamas a terror organisation in an EU statement.
Israeli media i24News claimed that Denmark was one of three countries that refused to call Hamas a terror group, resulting in a watering down of an EU statement.
“DK firmly rejects the false information that DK should have objected to qualifying Hamas a terrorist organization in negotiating an EU declaration,” the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.
“DK would never do that. Hamas is listed a terror organization by the EU and DK has on several occasions referred to Hamas as such,” it said.
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The foreign spokesman from the Liberal (Venstre) party, Michael Aastrup Jensen, said in a social media post that Denmark should not send any more development aid to the Palestinians and subsequently confirmed that this was the position of his party.
“The huge backing from Palestinians to Hamas, and the approval of the terror attack by the leader of the national authority, Abbas, must not be overlooked. We should therefore rescind all development aid to Palestine,” he told news wire Ritzau.
Opposition party Liberal Alliance also said on Monday that it wanted to cut development aid to Palestinian-administrated areas.
The general secretary of the Danish Red Cross, Anders Ladekarl, responded with a post on X, formerly Twitter, urging the country’s politicians to “hold their horses” before stopping aid to Palestinians.
“This aid is partly what provides ambulances and hospital treatment to innocent civilians. The aid that that makes it possible the Red Cross to push for access to prisoners of war and the release of hostages,” Ladekarl said.
It is currently unclear whether the other two coalition parties, the Social Democrats and Moderates, agree with the Liberals on cutting Palestinian aid in light of the Hamas attack on Israel.
The Danish foreign ministry meanwhile denied a report in Israeli media that it had refused to call Hamas a terror organisation in an EU statement.
Israeli media i24News claimed that Denmark was one of three countries that refused to call Hamas a terror group, resulting in a watering down of an EU statement.
“DK firmly rejects the false information that DK should have objected to qualifying Hamas a terrorist organization in negotiating an EU declaration,” the Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.
“DK would never do that. Hamas is listed a terror organization by the EU and DK has on several occasions referred to Hamas as such,” it said.
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