The Palestinian NGOs Network is an umbrella organization of Palestinian non-government organisations operating in the Palestinian territories formed to enhance coordination, consultation and cooperation between member NGOs and to strengthen Palestinian civil society and contribute to the establishment of the Palestinian state. PNGO was formed in September 1993, and as at January 2020, had 135 member NGOs operating in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. PNGO operates through committees of members working in five sectors: health, democracy and human rights, women and children, rehabilitation and agriculture. PNGO role is to establish general guidelines and coordinate the NGOs work but has no line authority on the NGOs. PNGO is a member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and promotes other anti-Israel activities. Individual PNGO members, such as Defense for Children International – Palestine, also promote BDS and are active participants in lobbying the UN, EU, foreign governments, and other international bodies that promote this agenda.
Funding of PNGOs
Each member NGO obtains separate funding for its activities and projects from donors, which include foreign governments, international organisations, charities, etc., which all form part of the international aid to Palestinians. In January 2020, the European Union inserted a clause in new EU’s grant contracts to prohibit recipients from working with and funding organizations and individuals designated on the EU’s terror lists. The PNGO vehemently opposed the new requirement. According to media reports, PNGO claimed that Palestinian terrorist organizations are in fact “political parties.” According to the PNGO, the EU sent a “clarification letter” on 30 March 2020, which clarified that the EU provision only applies to persons explicitly named in its restrictive list and emphasized that no Palestinian persons are included in that list, and that the provision is limited to “financial procedures”, adding: “The EU does not ask any civil society organization to change its political position towards any Palestinian faction or to discriminate against any natural person based on his/her political affiliation”.
Members
Each member NGO has its own area of activity and is affiliated to related international organisations and attends international conferences at which it may present papers on its area of interest. Members of PNGO include:
