Israel Warns it will Suspend Several Aid Groups Operating in Gaza
JERUSALEM: Israel said on Tuesday it would suspend several aid organizations operating in Gaza from January for failing to provide detailed information about their Palestinian staff, accusing two Médecins Sans Frontières employees of having links to militant groups.
The move is part of Israel’s decision to “strengthen and update” regulations governing the activities of international NGOs in the Palestinian territories, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said in a statement.
“Humanitarian organizations that fail to meet security and transparency requirements will have their licenses suspended,” the ministry said.
The report also stated that organizations that “fail to cooperate and refuse to provide a list of their Palestinian employees in order to exclude any connection with terrorism” have received official notification that their licenses will be revoked as of January 1.
The relevant organizations, whose names were not disclosed, were ordered to cease all their activities by March 1.
The ministry said the groups were given 10 months to provide the requested information but “still failed to comply with the requirements.”
The ministry told AFP earlier this month that nearly 100 records requests had been submitted as of November 25 and “only 14 organizational requests were rejected”.
“The rest have been approved or are currently under review,” he added.
Following an investigation, the ministry said on Tuesday that international medical aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) had allegedly recruited two men with links to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad respectively.
“Despite repeated requests, the organization has not made a full disclosure about the identities and roles of these individuals,” the statement said. The statement was included.
When contacted, MSF said it would “never knowingly employ people engaged in military activities” because they would “pose a danger to our staff and patients”.
The charity added that it “continues to communicate and meet with Israeli officials” and that “no decision has yet been made on re-registration.”
The ministry said its latest measures will not affect the delivery of aid to Gaza.
“Only a limited number of organizations (less than 15 percent) were found to be in breach of the regulatory framework,” he said.
Many NGOs told AFP the new rules would have a major impact on aid distribution in Gaza.
Humanitarian organizations say the amount of aid entering Gaza is insufficient.
While the October 10 ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 trucks a day, only 100 to 300 of them are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations.
COGAT, the body of the Israeli defense ministry responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, said last week an average of 4,200 aid trucks entered Gaza per week, corresponding to about 600 aid trucks per day.
