French NGOs in Gaza furious over Kouchner's remarks

Dubai: The only two French humanitarian organisations that have a permanent presence in the Gaza strip have strongly denounced French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner's recent statement in which he said French non-government organisations (NGOs) working in Gaza were providing Paris with information on Hamas. Both Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) and Medicins Du Monde (MDM) described Kouchner's statement in his press conference in Occupied Jerusalem on October 5, as "baseless" and "dangerous" as they make French NGOs' practices in Palestinian territories "suspicious". They also stressed their independence from all governments and interests. Kouchner said "officially, we have no contact with Hamas, but unofficially, international organisations working in the Gaza Strip - in particular, French NGOs - provide us information." In a... [read full story]