New Israeli INGO Registration Rules Threaten Humanitarian Operations in Gaza and West Bank
The United Nations and aid agencies have warned that new Israeli registration rules for international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) could collapse the humanitarian response in Gaza and the West Bank. Under the new rules, INGOs must be registered by 31 December or face 60 days of closure.
Save the Children has stated that its registration has not yet been approved and it is seeking reconsideration, while committing to continuing aid delivery through Palestinian staff and partners. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also remains unregistered and cautions that losing access to Gaza would be disastrous for Palestinians.
The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism has extended the registration deadline to 31 December, asserting that the departure of what it terms "rogue organisations" would not affect aid and that sufficient time has been given. Of approximately 100 INGO applications, about 14 have been rejected, 21 approved, and the remainder are still under review.
Grounds for potential rejection include denying Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, denying the Holocaust or Hamas attacks, supporting armed struggle, promoting delegitimisation or boycott, or calling for prosecutions of Israeli security forces abroad.
The Humanitarian Country Team has cautioned that the system is vague, arbitrary, and politicised, jeopardising INGOs’ operations and potentially violating international humanitarian principles. If INGOs are de-registered, Gaza could face a collapse in critical health and humanitarian services. Currently, INGOs manage or support most of Gaza’s field hospitals, primary health care, emergency shelter, water and sanitation, nutrition programs for children with acute malnutrition, and mine action. Closing these organizations could shut about one in three health facilities in Gaza.
