Denmark and Sweden suspend their development aid to the Palestinians and maintain humanitarian aid
Denmark and Sweden announced on Tuesday the suspension of their development aid to the Palestinians after the attack launched by the Hamas movement on Israel on Saturday, confirming in return the continuation of their humanitarian aid.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, “The Danish government decided to suspend its development aid to Palestine”.
Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that they launched a study to ensure that Danish funds aren’t misused, especially to support “terrorist organizations” that indirectly attack Israel.
The statement explained that “this review will take place within the framework of close dialogue with Denmark’s partners in the European Union and the Nordic region”.
For the year 2023, Denmark allocated development aid to the Palestinians worth 235.5 million kroner (31.6 million Euros), these funds have now been suspended.
In return, Copenhagen allocated 115 million kroner in humanitarian aid for emergency aid as well as 25.8 million kroner through Danish NGOs.
These funds are not included in the suspension decision, and therefore they are scheduled to be disbursed according to the plan drawn up for them.
In Stockholm, the Swedish government announced the suspension of its development aid to the Palestinians.
Development Aid Minister Johan Forssell told reporters, “Sweden will suspend development aid to Palestine until further notice”.
The Swedish minister didn’t clarify the value of this aid.
Danish Development Minister Dan Jorgensen was quoted by the Danish Ritzau News Agency as saying, “We want to be absolutely certain that the Danish funds allocated to Palestine do not indirectly support terrorist organizations or organizations that support Hamas”.
