Activity

• The Swiss government funds numerous Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA/EDA), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC/DEZA), and representative offices in Tel Aviv and Ramallah. Switzerland indirectly funds NGOs through multiple UN frameworks and aid organizations such as the Norwegian Refugee Council, Diakonia, and the Swiss church group HEKS.
• In 2021-2024, the Swiss government granted CHF 32 million in direct and indirect funding to NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Some of these groups promote antisemitic rhetoric and have alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – a designated terrorist organization by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel.
• In June 2021, Switzerland endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
• In January, 2020, the Swiss government published an evaluation of funding to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza titled “Cooperation with non-governmental organizations in partner countries of international cooperation”:
  • NGO Monitor’s review of this report shows that the evaluation fails to effectively and impartially analyze the distribution of Swiss funds. Instead, the evaluation relies on the self-reporting and opinions of Swiss government grantees.
  • The evaluation does not address the core issue that inspired the mandated review, namely, funding to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) “involved in racist anti-Semitic or inflammatory activities.”
• In June 2017, the Swiss Parliament adopted a resolution to “amend the laws, ordinances and regulations so that Switzerland can no longer subsidize, even indirectly, development cooperation projects carried out by NGOs involved in racism or incitement.”

Developments Since the October 7th Hamas Massacre

• On October 25, 2023, Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) announced the suspension of funds to 11 NGOs (6 Palestinian and 5 Israeli) pending “an in-depth analysis of the compliance of these organizations’ communications with the FDFA’s Code of Conduct and anti-discrimination clause, to which external partners are subject.”
• On November 22, 2023, the Swiss government announced that it ended collaboration with two NGOs – Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) – with their contracts being terminated at the end of 2024. According to the FDFA, “the NGOs’ potential apology for violence,… contravenes the non-discrimination clauses of the code of conduct.” 

Direct Funding

The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA/EDA) funds multiple Israeli and Palestinian NGOs directly through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC/DEZA), Department of Human Security, Abteilung Menschliche Sicherheit (AMS), the Swiss Embassy in Tel-Aviv, and the Swiss Representative Office in Ramallah. See table below for full funding information.

Swiss Funding to Palestinian NGOs

• In 2024, Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) received CHF 59,422. In November 2023, Switzerland announced that its contract with PCHR would terminate at the end of 2024. Swiss media, citing FDFA’s head of communications, revealed that the reason was PCHR’s problematic attitudes towards violence.
  • PCHR is a leader in anti-Israel lawfare campaigns, ignores the existence of terrorism against Israeli civilians, and presents a distorted version of the conflict based only on the Palestinian narrative.
  • On October 7, 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack, PCHR Deputy Director of Field Research Yasser Abdel Ghafour shared a picture of Gazans celebrating on a looted IDF vehicle, and wrote, “Long live the heroes.”
  • On May 13, 2023, in the context of the May 2023 conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), PCHR published a statement in which it  “affirms the right of the Palestinian people to resist the occupation by all available means, including armed struggle, all the way to achieve their legitimate rights, end the occupation and establish their independent state” (emphasis added). 
    • Following pressure from European donors, PCHR altered the text to read: “to resist the occupation by all legitimate means in accordance with international law.”
  • In February 2014, the PFLP organized a ceremony in Gaza honoring PCHR director Raji Sourani for winning the “Alternative Noble (sic) Prize.” For more information on PCHR’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
• In 2024, Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) received CHF 139,074. In November 2023, Switzerland announced that its contract with PNGO would terminate at the end of 2024 due to PNGO’s non-compliance with FDFA’s Code of Conduct and anti-discrimination clause.
  • PNGO is an umbrella organization comprising 142 Palestinian NGO member organizations, many of which support BDS campaigns and have ties to the PFLP terror group. In January 2020, PNGO vehemently opposed a new clause in European Union grant contracts with Palestinian NGOs that prohibits grantees from working with and funding organizations and individuals designated on the EU’s terror lists.  PNGO claimed that Palestinian terrorist organizations are “political parties.”
  • In November 2021, PNGO “condemn[ed]” the decision of the British government to declare Hamas a terrorist organization.
  • Multiple PNGO officials have ties to terrorist organizations, and at least five PNGO members have ties to EU-designated terror organizations, including through their employees and/or board members who are directly involved in activities and programs
  • On October 8, 2023, PNGO published a statement demanding “National unity to combat the challenges and to supply international protection to the Palestinian people.” According to the statement, “We in PNGO salute this honorable image that our people are sketching.” The statement further called for the world to “see the true reality, which is that the Palestinian people have been facing, for more than 75 years, a racist, fascist occupation…The Palestinian people are living in a national liberation phase and do not deal with the illusions of peace that is based on imposing a fait accompli. They are resisting this with all valor and sacrifice.” (emphasis added; translated from the original Arabic by NGO Monitor) 
• In 2024, Miftah received CHF 30,800.
  • Miftah regularly promotes “resistance” (a euphemism for terror attacks) and glorifies terrorists. Miftah also utilizes anti-Israel rhetoric, such as accusing Israel of perpetrating “massacres,” “cultural genocide,” “war crimes,” and “apartheid.”
  • On March 26, 2024, MIFTAH published a statement denying the systematic rapes of Israeli women on October 7 th , referring to them as “Israeli allegations and misinformation, used to justify this genocide.” 
  • In March 2013, Miftah published an article written by Nawaf al-Zaru that repeated the antisemitic blood libel that Jews use Christian blood to bake Passover matzah.
• In 2024, Palestinian Vision (PalVision) received CHF 273,599.
  • Many of PalVision’s board members, officials, and employees have justified and glorified violence against Israeli civilians and praised individual terrorists and terrorist attacks.
• In 2024, Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC) received CHF 328,303.
  • Accuses Israel of “collective punishment,” “human rights violations,” “women’s rights violations,” and seeking “to “suppress resistance” by “targeting civil society in order to obtain land and continue to undermine the economic stability, the growth and the development of Palestinian society.”
  • In a July 2023 letter addressed to members of the European Parliament and co-signed by 17 NGOs, including WCLAC, the NGO signatories claimed that “by keeping democratically elected political parties on the EU terrorist list, the EU is perpetuating the denial of self-determination of the Palestinian people. Hamas needs to be removed from the terrorist list to ensure Palestinian internal cohesion and democracy” (emphasis added).
  • Supports BDS initiatives  through participation in activities and events, signing of petitions and initiatives, and membership in BDS platforms.
• In 2024, Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC) received CHF 236,960.
  • JLAC is highly active in promoting BDS campaigns, lobbying international bodies, and utilizing highly inflammatory rhetoric.
  • In a July 2023 letter addressed to members of the European Parliament and co-signed by 17 NGOs, including JLAC, the NGO signatories claimed that “by keeping democratically elected political parties on the EU terrorist list, the EU is perpetuating the denial of self-determination of the Palestinian people. Hamas needs to be removed from the terrorist list to ensure Palestinian internal cohesion and democracy” (emphasis added).
• In 2024, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) received CHF 306,080.
  • GCMHP uses unsubstantiated medical claims as an avenue to criticize the Israeli government, including allegations that Israel engages in “systematic state organized violence,” “collective punishment” “massacres,” “war crimes,” and a system of “apartheid” against Palestinians.
• In 2022, Ma’an Development Center received CHF 292,300.
  • In May 2019, “MA’AN’s Director General,” Sami Khader attended a memorial event organized by the PFLP that centered on PFLP political bureau member Rabah Muhanna, who, according to information posted by the PFLP, “contributed to the establishment” of several PFLP-affiliated NGOs, including UHWC, UAWC, and Addameer. The hall was decorated with PFLP paraphernalia.
  • In June 2018, Hamza Zbeldat, Ma’an Field Coordinator in Ramallah, mourned the loss of a PFLP member, describing him as “my master” and as a person who “taught me.”
  • In May 2018, Ma’an Development Center employee Ahmad Abdallah Aladini was killed in the violence on the Gaza border. Aladini was a “comrade” of the PFLP terror group.
• In 2021, Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) receive CHF 450,267
  • ICHR regularly collaborates with and has demonstrated its support for EU, US, Canada and Israel-designated terror groups, such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
• In 2021, Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA) received CHF 450,000.
  • Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA) is signatory to the March 2016 “Palestinian Women’s Call for Worldwide Women’s Endorsement of BDS.” CFTA’s Director Mariam Zakoot signed a 2016 statement from Palestinian feminists supporting BDS and “deplor(ing) the colonial attitude inherent in some Israeli feminists’ request of us to sign a statement in favor of liberal ideals, ‘dialogue’ and ‘co-existence,’ and against the effective solidarity with the struggle for rights.”
• In 2020, Addameer received CHF 135,763.
  • Addameer is an “affiliate” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization designated as such by the US, EU, Canada, and Israel. Several of Addameer’s current and former employees, as well as lawyers that work for Addameer, are linked to the terror group.
  • In June 2025, the US Department of Treasury sanctioned Addameer for “being owned, controlled, or directed by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the PFLP.”
  • On October 22, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared Addameer a “terror organization” because it is part of “a network of organizations” that operates “on behalf of the ‘Popular Front’.” For more information on Addameer’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Addameer’s Ties to the PFLP Terrorist Group.”
  • Addameer is a leader of campaigns in support of Palestinians prisoners convicted of security offenses, referring to them as “political prisoners” and altogether omitting the context of violence and terror.
• In 2020, Al-Dameer received CHF 11,740.
  • Numerous Al-Dameer staff members and board members have ties to the PFLP. According to Palestinian sources, Al-Dameer officials, employees and board members have taken part in public PFLP gatherings, including congratulating the terror group on the anniversary of its founding, and participating in a PFLP delegation in Gaza. For more information on Al-Dameer’s PFLP ties, read NGO Monitor’s report “Al-Dameer’s Ties to the PFLP Terror Group.”
  • Al-Dameer is highly active in promoting BDS campaigns, lobbying international bodies, and utilizing highly inflammatory rhetoric.

Swiss Funding to Israeli NGOs

• In 2024, 7amleh received CHF 13,315.
  • Since 2016, 7amleh has campaigned against Facebook’s, Twitter’s, and Instagram’s policies of taking down posts featuring incitement to violence, support for terror, and antisemitism, arguing that social media platforms “all too often lead to the silencing and erasure of critical voices,” “censor[ing] Palestinian voices,” and attacking “free speech.”
  • 7amleh board members and officials have used Facebook to celebrate violence against Israelis. 
  • On October 7, 2023, Board Member Neveen Abu Rahmoun posted on Facebook, “The Palestinian resistance is imposing a new stage since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa flood operation by resistance fighters infiltrating into numerous Israeli neighborhoods in the settlements, by creating points of contact, and by firing rockets of the resistance. Israel, in its turn, is constrained by this and has announced a state of high mobilization for war. The message of the resistance is clear, it has started and it shall escalate and shall impose a new reality.”
• In 2024, Adalah received CHF 229,435.
  • Adalah rejects the legitimacy of the Jewish state, attempting to portray it as inherently racist and discriminatory, and regularly lobbies the Israeli Supreme Court and international bodies to adopt its agenda. Adalah also partners with anti-Israel BDS groups.
    • In July 2021, after the Israeli Supreme Court upheld the Jewish Nation-State Basic Law, Adalah published a press release labelling “the Israeli regime, as a colonial one, with distinct characteristics of apartheid” (emphasis added).
  • Supports a “transformation [of Israel] in to a transnational regime in all historical Palestine,” i.e. a one-state formula. (translation by NGO Monitor)
  • In October 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, Adalah posted a statement claiming, “The extremist, racist Israeli government is using the attacks by Palestinian militants as a pretext to launch illegal attacks and commit war crimes toward ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”.
• In 2024, Breaking the Silence received CHF 154,000.
  • Breaking the Silence makes sweeping accusations based on anecdotal, anonymous, and unverifiable accounts of often low-ranked soldiers. These “testimonies” lack context, are politically biased, and erase the complicated reality in the West Bank. In addition, they reflect a distorted interpretation of the conflict in order to advance the political agenda of Breaking the Silence activists, thereby fueling the international campaigns against Israel.
  • In June 2015, the cultural center in Zurich hosted an event featuring a Breaking the Silence photo exhibition, as well as “testimonies.” The event was sponsored by the Swiss Foreign Ministry, the Municipality of Zurich, and several church groups that are active in delegitimization campaigns against Israel.
• In 2024, B’Tselem received CHF 41,000.
  • B’Tselem actively pursues its political agenda of “international consequences” and international pressure on Israel via lobbying of the UN and European governments.
  • In May 2024, B’Tselem published a statement claiming, “It is time we understood that violence and disregard for human life are keystones of the Israeli apartheid regime between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. So long as this regime continues to exist, there will be more violence and more victims — Palestinian and Israeli. The only way to ensure safety for us all is to end the apartheid regime.”
  • In July 2025, B’Tselem published a report, “Our Genocide,” promoting the antisemitic genocide libel against Israel.
  • In January 2021, B’Tselem launched a discriminatory and hateful campaign, under the banner of “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid.” As part of the campaign, B’Tselem attacked Israel’s role as a haven for the Jewish people (the Law of Return) and used the phrase “from the river to the sea” – echoing long-standing Palestinian terminology for the destruction of Israel. (Read NGO Monitor’s analysis: “From the “River to the Sea”: B’Tselem’s Demonization Crosses the Line.”)
• In 2024, Emek Shaveh received CHF 116,000.
  • While Emek Shaveh claims that it “oppose[s] attempts to use archaeological finds to legitimize acts that harm disadvantaged communities,” it promotes distorted facts and unsubstantiated positions that promote the Palestinian narrative of victimization and sole Israeli aggression.
  • In February 2023, Emek Shaveh accused Israel of “Jewish supremacy,” a phrase that repeats the canard that labels Jewish self-determination as inherently racist and signals the embrace of a “one-state” agenda.
• In 2024, Gisha received CHF 137,320.
  • Employs “apartheid” rhetoric and vocabulary based on international law and human rights to promote a partisan political and ideological agenda.
  • In May 2025, Gisha was a signatory on a statement claiming, “Israel is deliberately inflicting conditions that make life impossible in Gaza, with the declared goal of carrying out ethnic cleansing.”
  • In January 2021, Gisha published an article titled “Naming the reality,” writing that the “word apartheid evokes revulsion, as it should. There are undoubtedly differences between the apartheid regime in South Africa and Israel, but the thread that connects them is undeniable.”
• In 2024, Hamoked received CHF 311,958.
  • HaMoked makes inaccurate and inflammatory allegations of Israeli “apartheid,” “deportations,” “torture,” and “forcible transfers,” and accuses Israel of “collective punishment” and of “ghetto-ization of the West Bank.”
  • HaMoked regularly represents families of terrorists responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel.
• In 2024, Akevot received CHF 73,197.
  • In 2021, Akevot launched a project funded by Switzerland titled “Living Memory: Expanding Space for Critical Reflection on the Israeli Palestinian Conflict through Archival Documentation.” According to the contract between the Swiss government and Akevot, the project specifically focuses on “myth-breaking” and dismantling the founding narratives of Israel.
  • Additionally, according to the contract, Swiss funding goes to researching Israeli government archives to uncover documentation of “fraught and little-known events and mechanisms that problematize or even contradict ‘the official story’ of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Akevot exposes the “Jewish-Israeli Public” to what it sees as the “root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and pushes them to “recognize Israel’s responsibility for historical injustices.” A major component is a partnership with the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, which regularly publishes articles based on and/or by Akevot reports.
• In 2024, the Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI) received CHF 21,670.
  • PCATI regularly circulates unverifiable allegations of Israeli torture, using them as the basis for campaigns of demonization in international forums.
  • In June 2023, PCATI published a joint report titled “State of the Occupation – Year 56: A Joint Situation Report” affirming that “that after 56 years of occupation, Israel’s actions in the West Bank today meet the criteria of apartheid.” According to PCATI, “The current government’s steps, motivated by its stated Jewish supremacy ideology, will also deepen the apartheid regime governing nearly all aspects of oPt Palestinians’ lives.”
• In 2024, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel received CHF 221,228.
  • Under the guise of medical expertise and scientific fact, PHR-I promotes distorted and false narratives, aimed at demonizing and delegitimizing Israel in the international arena.
  • On July 28, 2025, PHR-I published a report promoting the antisemitic genocide libel, accusing Israel of “a deliberate, cumulative, and ongoing dismantling of Gaza’s healthcare system – and of the population’s ability to survive. Its meaning: genocide.”
  • In 2024, PHR-I published a statement claiming that “Since October 7, the Israeli government and other entities have been exploiting reports of sexual violence in a manipulative and cynical manner. These reports have been utilized as part of a campaign to dehumanize Palestinians and as a propaganda tool to justify Israel’s brutal military assault on the Gaza Strip. This assault has resulted, and continues to result, in the deaths and injuries of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, the forced displacement and starvation of most of the Gaza Strip’s population, and extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure, including health facilities. We are appalled by this cynical exploitation of the victims’ suffering, condemn it, and view it as a complete abandonment of any moral integrity” (emphasis added).
  • In 2022, Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality (NCF) received CHF 75,058.
    • Active in delegitimizing Israel internationally, and one of the most active NGOs in lobbying European governments to oppose Israel’s Bedouin-Negev policies.

Indirect Funding

Switzerland also provides indirect funding to NGOs through UN frameworks; the Swiss church group HEKS; and Diakonia

HEKS

• HEKS (Hilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirchen Schweiz) is the aid organization of the Protestant Churches of Switzerland.
• In 2024, total income was CHF 137.3 million, of which CHF 15.9 million came from the Swiss government. Total expenditure for international cooperation was CHF 73 million, of which CHF 2.3 million was spent in “Palestine/Israel.”
• HEKS has provided funding to a number of highly biased and politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict including Zochrot, Emek Shaveh, Akevot, World Council of Churches, and Ma’an Development Center.

Medico International Switzerland

• In 2023, Medico International Switzerland’s income was CHF 1.9 million, of which 9% came from Swiss municipalities and cantons.
• Total budget in 2023 for projects in “Palestine/Israel” was CHF 247,019
• Medico International Switzerland funds the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) Physicians for Human Rights –Israel (PHR-I) and the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS).
  • PMRS rhetoric includes accusations of “ethnic cleansing,” “apartheid,” “collective punishment,” and “war crimes.”
  • Mustafa Barghouthi, founder and president of PMRS, praised the October 7th attacks on Israel and repeatedly denied the systematic rape of Israeli women during the atrocities.

UN Funding

UN-OCHA oPt Humanitarian Fund

• In 2024, Switzerland granted CHF 4.2 million to the UN-OCHA occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund.
• Several PFLP-linked NGOs, including UAWC, UHWC, and PCHR are regular recipients of disbursements from the “occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund.”

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the occupied Palestinian territory

• In 2022-2024 SDC budgeted CHF 2 million to OHCHR for projects in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.
• The funding is directed to multiple NGOs including Diakonia IHL resource centre (see below), the Independent Commission of Human rights (ICHR), and other “Israeli and Palestinian NGOs supported by Switzerland.”
• In February 2020, OHCHR published a discriminatory blacklist of entities allegedly conducting activities in areas over the 1949 Armistice line. The database aimed at economically damaging companies that are owned by Jews or do business with Israel, and is ultimately meant to harm the Jewish state.

World Food Programme (WFP)

• In 2024, the Swiss government provided the World Food Programme with CHF 10 million as part of the “Escalation of Hostilities in the OPT Flash Appeal,” and CHF 3 million for “Food Security- Food Assistance.”
• In 2023, Switzerland provided WFP with CHF1,500,000 for the “Country Strategic Plan for food assistance to the vulnerable and food insecure population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip” project. According to the program description, “The targeting of WFP’s food assistance is based on a Proxy Means Test Formula (PMTF) developed by the Ministry of Social Development” and the “Beneficiaries who are part of the social safety net of the Ministry of Social Development have access to the Ministry’s complaint and feedback mechanism system. The Ministry provides WFP with feedback on a regular basis.”
  • Hamas has exercised effective control over the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) in Gaza for several years and directs humanitarian funding to selected beneficiaries. In April 2019, Hamas appointed a politburo member, Ghazi Hamad who was designated by the US Department of Treasury in 2024), to lead the Ministry. For more information, read NGO Monitor’s reports “Hamas Influences UK Funded Gaza Cash Programme,” and “US-funded NGO Aid Benefiting Hamas: Mercy Corps and ANERA Operations in Gaza.”
  • In addition, the Food Security Cluster is a mechanism jointly run by FAO and WFP that distributes funds and partners with highly politicized NGOs, including terror-linked groups such as UAWC and Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW). IRW was designated as a terrorist entity by Israel in June 2014, which identified it as raising funds for Hamas. UAWC was designated as a terrorist entity by Israel in October 2021 l due to its ties to the PFLP terror group. The Israeli Ministry of Defense determined that these NGOs were diverting humanitarian funds from European donors to aid the PFLP.

World Health Organization

• In 2024, the Swiss government provided the World Health Organization with $13,683,010 as part of within the “Operational Response Plan in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
• The Health Security Cluster, a WHO-run mechanism, partners with PFLP-linked NGOs.  These include Abdel Shafi Community Health Association (ACHA) and Al Awda Health and Community Association.

2019-2024 Funding to NGOs active in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza