Monitor, a Non Government Organisation was established in 2002 and is based in Jerusalem. It monitors funding of nongovernmental organizations in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The controversy is about £22 million sent to unknown recipients in 2019-2020. This was part of a Palestinian aid program led by the Norwegian Refugee Council . In 2021, Monitor asked for the names of the recipients. The British Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office refused to provide them.
After three years of legal struggle, the Information Commission gave Monitor a hearing. But the Commission sided with the British office. It ruled that sharing the information could harm Britain’s international relations.
Norwegian Refugee Council has terror links through the Union of Agricultural Work Committees. This group is seen as the “agricultural arm” of the “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine”, which is a designated terrorist organization. In 2019, members of this group killed Israeli teenager Rina Shnerb and injured her father and brother in an attack, north of Jerusalem.
Anne Herzberg, legal adviser for Monitor, has worked on the funding case. She condemned British authorities for funding terrorists.