A report by Israel's Intelligence Services Ministry sharply criticizes the European Union for funding the Palestinian Authority's illegal "takeover" of areas that are recognized as being under Israeli sovereignty.
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First translated by Honest Reporting, the document details how foreign governments gave hundreds of millions of euros to Palestinian projects in Area C in Judea and Samaria.
Such funding is contrary to international law and relevant agreements.
Titled "The Palestinian Campaign for Area C: Shaping a Security Reality on the Ground, Description and Implications," the report describes how the Palestinians use EU funds to build thousands of illegal structures and grab swaths of agricultural land.
It was prepared in June 2021 but declassified and made public this year. Israeli intelligence claims that the EU also provides the PA with actionable and diplomatic support.
The report states that the PA has received hundreds of thousands of dollars to carry out "unilateral land seizure moves over the past eight years."
According to the findings, "Since the implementation of the Oslo Accords in Judea and Samaria and the division of the land, the Palestinians have been taking action to occupy lands in Area C" under an initiative called the "Fayyad Plan."
As part of this campaign, the PA is directing and financing these land infringements in order to create facts on the ground, namely to have as much territory in Judea and Samaria under Palestinian sovereignty. This plan, the report continues, "is directed in accordance with a set of detailed, synchronized master plans which are coordinated between all of the government ministries, local authorities, special executive bodies, security organizations, NGOs and foundations maintaining an apparatus that coordinates and monitors matters closely."
The findings also reportedly found that the plan "enjoys foreign support in the form of the European decision (2012) that they are compelled to act in Area C not only for humanitarian or economic purposes as in the past (while avoiding harming the Oslo Accords), but also through a formative rationale for advancing policy
toward the political agreement and in response to Israel's moves to expand its settlements.
"The foreign aid effort as part of this campaign includes political support, media and diplomatic outreach support, a legal campaign, preparation and advancement of outline plans (public construction, infrastructure, employment, education and agriculture), completion of the registration of the lands on the part of the PA, Authority, and support for communities (including the Bedouins).
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"We estimate that this foreign funding of the various programs totals approximately 0.5 billion euros. This is an organized, multilateral effort, supported by foreign governments," the report said, naming the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Britain, Belgium, German, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and donors.
It added that a host of international agencies and economic organizations, such as the World Bank, UN bodies and the European Union, as well as a variety of Arab and Islamic organizations, were also involved in these efforts.
JNS.org contributed to this report
