In a striking turn of events, a group of members from the Unity List (Enhedslisten) has proposed to resume financial and organizational support for the Palestinian organization DFLP, despite previous allegations of the organization’s involvement in terrorist activities against Israel. The proposal, put forward by 22 party members, including several from the main board, is set to be discussed at the Unity List’s annual meeting this weekend. DFLP, or the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, had its collaboration with the Unity List suspended last year after accusations that their militant branch participated in an attack on October 7th. Jan Kjærgaard Hansen, one of the proposal’s initiators and a deputy member for the city council in Faxe Municipality, stated to B.T. that he finds the accusations against DFLP undocumented and hastily put forward. Hansen also compares DFLP and other Palestinian groups to Danish resistance movements during World War II, rejecting to label them as terrorist organizations. He argues that their actions constitute a legitimate resistance movement against a prolonged occupation of Palestine. This stance has sparked internal debate within the party, where other members, including group leader and foreign affairs spokesperson Trine Pertou Mach, have strongly distanced themselves from the proposal. The Unity List’s collaboration with DFLP and other Palestinian groups was funded by Danish tax money from 2013 to 2021, with a total of 3.2 million Danish kroner spent. This funding and the proposed resumed collaboration will undoubtedly be a key topic at the upcoming annual meeting, where party members will have to decide on the future direction of the Unity List’s international engagements. The Unity List’s political spokesperson, Pelle Dragsted, has refrained from commenting on the situation so far, leaving the party in a waiting position until the decisions at the annual meeting.

Read the danish version here