Israel vows to enforce ban on 37 aid groups in Gaza after deadline passes |
Israel vowed Thursday to enforce a ban on the activities of 37 international NGOs operating in Gaza over their failure to comply with stringent new “security and transparency” requirements concerning their employees.
“Organizations that have failed to meet required security and transparency standards will have their licenses suspended,” the Diaspora Affairs Ministry announced in a statement.
The groups will now be required to cease their operations by March 1, which the United Nations has warned will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
The standards were put in place under a government resolution from March 1, 2025, requiring NGOs to submit a raft of documentation about their organization and identify all foreign and Palestinian employees, including their passports and personal identification numbers.
Some of the NGOs targeted have said the requirements flout, or at least erode, international humanitarian law, and Israel has faced international criticism in the run-up to the deadline.
Israel has bucked the criticism, arguing the new regulations aim to prevent bodies it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Diaspora Affairs Ministry said the main reason for the ban’s enforcement was over the NGOs’ refusal to........