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High Court nixes NGOs’ petition against new security regulations on aid

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The High Court of Justice ruled unanimously on Wednesday against a petition by an association of 19 international aid organizations against new security regulations imposed by the government, asserting that state agencies are entitled to require strict security checks to ensure foreign organizations are not connected to terror groups.

The petition was filed by the AIDA umbrella organization after an inter-ministerial working group under the authority of the Diaspora Affairs Ministry published the new regulations in 2025 for any aid groups operating in Israel, the West Bank or Gaza. Thirty-seven organizations refused to comply with the new rules, saying doing so would endanger their employees and violate international law.

The licenses of the organizations were subsequently revoked earlier this year.

Among the 37 organizations are multiple branches of Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, the Danish and Norwegian Refugee Councils, Caritas Internationalis, an umbrella for Catholic charities, the Quaker-founded American Friends Service Committee and the International Rescue Committee.

“It is clear that the information requirement serves a clear security purpose,” wrote Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz, quoting a comment in a recent ruling by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, who said terrorist organizations had sought to take control of humanitarian aid shipments during the war in Gaza.

“The existence of a security inspection mechanism is not only legitimate, but constitutes a critical necessity that serves the paramount interest of state security and the protection of human life,” wrote Canfy-Steinitz.

The court gave the organizations whose licenses were........

© The Times of Israel