Despite protests, Israel has revoked the licences of dozens of international aid organizations.
The Israeli authorities have demanded registration for work from Thursday, January 1, which many organizations reject as unlawful.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they must cease their activities by March. This also affects operations in the Gaza Strip, largely destroyed by the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist militia Hamas.
A total of 37 organizations are affected, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Oxfam.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described Israel’s actions as “outrageous.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the registration is intended “to prevent the involvement of terrorist elements and to protect the integrity of humanitarian work.”
Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu, justified the actions in a post on the platform X.
She wrote that 104 organizations had duly applied for registration, of which only nine were rejected. The 37 affected organizations had not completed the process because they refused to provide a list of their local staff, she said.
Israel accuses MSF of having at least one employee involved in terrorist activities.
“The 37 organizations are more than welcome to complete the process as other organizations did,” wrote Rosenzweig-Abu.
The affected organizations had not brought aid supplies into the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire, and even before that, their contribution amounted to only 1% of the total aid volume, she posted.