Danish government resumes aid to Palestinian civilians
Denmark’s foreign development aid to Palestine, suspended on October 10th, is to be resumed.
The decision was made after the Foreign Ministry found no evidence of misuse of funding or indirect support for militant organisation Hamas through its use, the Prime Minister’s office informed news wire Ritzau on Monday.
“I am pleased to announce that Denmark is now resuming foreign development aid to Palestine. That means payments will now be initiated,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written comment.
The EU and other European countries have come to similar conclusions through their own processes, the ministry said.
Denmark’s regular development aid to Palestine was stopped on October 10th following the attack on Israel by Hamas. It later increased humanitarian aid for Gaza by an additional 50 million kroner.
The pause on development aid was put in place until the government was satisfied that no Danish money indirectly funds terror organisations involved in the attack on Israel, the government said when announcing the earlier decision.
That meant some 72 million kroner of payments were frozen. These have now been reinstated following Monday’s announcement.
Denmark does not send money directly to the Palestinian Authority. Instead, development aid goes to a number of civil organisations that operate in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.
On Sunday, both Copenhagen and Esbjerg saw major new demonstrations from thousands of people demanding an end to Israel’s military action in Gaza.
Broadcaster DR reported that “several thousand” took part in the Copenhagen demonstration, organised by the group ‘Stop Annekteringen af Palæstina’ (Stop the annexation of Palestine).
Several participants who spoke to the broadcaster condemned the war as a “genocide” and called for Denmark’s politicians to take more action in support of Palestinian civilians.
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The decision was made after the Foreign Ministry found no evidence of misuse of funding or indirect support for militant organisation Hamas through its use, the Prime Minister’s office informed news wire Ritzau on Monday.
“I am pleased to announce that Denmark is now resuming foreign development aid to Palestine. That means payments will now be initiated,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written comment.
The EU and other European countries have come to similar conclusions through their own processes, the ministry said.
Denmark’s regular development aid to Palestine was stopped on October 10th following the attack on Israel by Hamas. It later increased humanitarian aid for Gaza by an additional 50 million kroner.
The pause on development aid was put in place until the government was satisfied that no Danish money indirectly funds terror organisations involved in the attack on Israel, the government said when announcing the earlier decision.
That meant some 72 million kroner of payments were frozen. These have now been reinstated following Monday’s announcement.
Denmark does not send money directly to the Palestinian Authority. Instead, development aid goes to a number of civil organisations that operate in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.
On Sunday, both Copenhagen and Esbjerg saw major new demonstrations from thousands of people demanding an end to Israel’s military action in Gaza.
Broadcaster DR reported that “several thousand” took part in the Copenhagen demonstration, organised by the group ‘Stop Annekteringen af Palæstina’ (Stop the annexation of Palestine).
Several participants who spoke to the broadcaster condemned the war as a “genocide” and called for Denmark’s politicians to take more action in support of Palestinian civilians.
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