The licenses of 37 international nonprofits operating in Gaza and the West Bank will expire on January 1, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry announced Tuesday, saying the groups did not comply with stringent new requirements to register with the government.

The announcement came as the foreign ministers of 10 nations on Tuesday expressed “serious concerns” about a “renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation” in Gaza, saying the situation as winter has intensified was “catastrophic.”

The Defense Ministry said the expiration of the licenses will not affect aid provision in Gaza, where humanitarian groups continue to claim Israel is letting in too little assistance. The Diaspora Ministry described the new rules, instituted in March, as a safety measure meant to weed out NGO workers with ties to terror groups.

“The message is clear: Humanitarian assistance is welcome – the exploitation of humanitarian frameworks for terrorist purposes is unacceptable,” Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said in a statement. “Israel will continue to protect its sovereignty, its citizens and the integrity of humanitarian action.”

The rules mean that, soon, some of the most prominent nonprofit groups working with Palestinians will no longer be allowed to operate in Gaza or the West Bank. The deadline for the groups to stop operations is March 1.

The list includes 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.

The 10 foreign ministers — including those of the UK, France, Canada and Japan — said in their statement that the nonprofits must be allowed to operate in Gaza in a “sustained and predictable” way.

“As 31 December approaches,........

© The Times of Israel