The EU warned Wednesday that Israel’s threat to suspend several aid groups in Gaza from January would block “life-saving” assistance from reaching the population.
“The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form,” EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib posted on X, after Israel said several groups would be barred for failing to provide details of their Palestinian employees.
“IHL (international humanitarian law) leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need,” Lahbib wrote.
NGOs had until December 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims to prevent “hostile actors or supporters of terrorism” operating in the Palestinian territories, rather than impede aid.
Organizations that “refused to submit a list of their Palestinian employees in order to rule out any links to terrorism” were notified by Israeli authorities on Tuesday that their licenses would be canceled as of January 1 and that they would have to stop all operations by March 1.
Israel has notably criticized Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for not adhering to the regulations, but it has not revealed how many organizations are prohibited. It claimed that two people with ties to Palestinian armed organizations were employed by the medical charity.
As of November 25, 14 NGO requests had been denied, the Israeli government said AFP earlier this month.
Several NGOs said the new rules will have a major impact on aid distribution in Gaza, with humanitarian organisations saying the amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate.
While an accord for a ceasefire that started on October 10 stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations.
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said last week that on average 4,200 aid trucks enter Gaza weekly, which corresponds to around 600 daily.
