The French Development Agency has given $10 million to the Palestinian NGO Development Center that supports boycotting Israel, despite the fact that it is illegal in France to promote the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.
The Development Center was behind the 2008 Palestinian NGO Code of Conduct, a document that states a rejection of normalization of activities with Israel, "neither at the political-security nor the cultural or developmental levels."
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The Center has provided funding to pro-BDS groups and organizations with alleged ties to terrorism, according to NGO Monitor, a watchdog group that profiles anti-Israel NGOs.
The French Development Agency, or AFD, is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government and focuses on "climate, biodiversity, peace, education, urban development, health, and governance."
AFD spokesperson Magali Mevellec said that the funding "conforms to French law." Mevellec said that France "supports strengthening local capabilities that improve the lives of populations" in what the country considers Palestinian territories. She added that "the sole purpose of France and AFD is improving the welfare of [those] populations."
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org
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