On Tuesday, Sweden and Denmark announced temporary halts in aid flow to the Palestinian territories following the Hamas attack on Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip.
Johan Forssell, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, stated during a press conference in Stockholm, “We do not want Swedish taxpayers’ money to go to actors that do not have a very clear view on these fundamental issues, distancing themselves from terrorism.”
Nealy 57 million Swedish kronor (around $5 million) planned for this year will not be disbursed.
However, humanitarian aid for disaster situations will not be affected.
Denmark has also decided to suspend its developmental aid to the Palestinians, according to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen.
In a statement, the Danish Foreign Ministry explained, “A comprehensive review will be conducted to ensure that no Danish funding is misused to indirectly support terrorist organizations attacking Israel.”
Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Climate Policy, Dan Jørgensen, stated in the release, “Following this serious aggression and acts of terrorism perpetrated by Hamas against Israel, we must pause and ensure that the support we distribute goes to the right people and the right projects. Therefore, this suspension of payments is necessary.”
Support for civil organizations and infrastructure projects will be among the types of aid under review.
According to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the amount at stake is 72 million Danish kroner (about $10 million), which will be suspended for the remainder of 2023. Denmark does not currently provide direct support to the Palestinian Authority.
