A Regavim investigation revealed who is behind a new program for PA Arab students living in Area C, and which foreign countries are involved. “The State of Israel continues to turn a blind eye to the overt acts of a terrorist organization,” according to Regavim.
A recent expose’ by the Intelligence Division of the Regavim Movement, which monitors the activities of the Palestinian Authority and foreign organizations in Area C, revealed that the “Union of Agricultural Work Committees” (UAWC), officially designated as a terrorist organization by former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, is running a “student exchange program for Palestinian students” in cooperation with academic institutions in France and Great Britain.
UAWC was declared a terrorist organization by the Defense Ministry in 2021, in light of the close connection between the organization and terrorist activities, including the murder of Rana Shnerb in the summer of 2019.
In its formal designation of UAWC as a PFLP-affiliated terrorist organization, the Defense Ministry proved that UAWC serves as a conduit for the flow of millions of Euros to its parent organization, the Marxist terrorist organization founded by George Habash that has perpetrated murder and mayhem against Israelis, diaspora Jews and others over several decades.
UAWC is one of several PFLP offshoots that pose as civil society organizations as they fight against the existence of the State of Israel and support the illegal Palestinian Authority annexations in Area C.
The newly-exposed international student exchange program claims to “strengthen young people concerning agricultural and environmental activities.” The program, scheduled for this coming July, includes visits to Marseille, Berlin, and Hebron. The conditions for admission state openly that priority in acceptance will be given to residents of Area C.
At the end of last week, the Regavim Movement sent a letter to the Defense Minister and the IDF demanding steps to immediately halt the program, as well as decisive action against the ongoing operation and activities of the UAWC, particularly those involving foreign governments and other actors.
National Unity Party MK Sharen Haskel submitted a query to the Defense Minister asking why a terrorist organization is allowed to operate freely.
“The designation of a terrorist organization must not remain merely a declaration,” said Regavim’s Policy and Parliamentary Affairs Director Avraham Binyamin. “We were surprised to discover, in the course of ongoing intelligence research, that the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, a designated terrorist organization, continues its operations openly among Palestinian students and in cooperation with foreign countries.”
“The Israeli government’s failure to act against the activities of this terrorist organization constitutes an abandonment of territory under Israeli jurisdiction. Israel must act immediately to block the UAWC’s ability to operate on the local and international stage to spread its terrorist agenda, and to cut off the UAWC’s ability to maintain international contacts that funnel European money to the PFLP,” Binyamin said, adding, “We demand that the Foreign Ministry summon the ambassadors of France and Germany and condemn their cooperation with the UAWC in particular and their involvement in illegal activity in areas C in general.”
Donors to the UAWC include the European Union, France, Netherlands, Spain (AECID), Norwegian People’s Aid, Medico, Grassroots International, Oxfam Solidarité, and the United Nations. The EU has already guaranteed €3.4 million to a UAWC in Gaza in the years 2021-2025, in collaboration with the Ma’an Development Center and Oxfam Novib.
