‘Involved in terrorism’: Israel to ban 37 Gaza NGOs; 'Doctors Without Borders' in list

Israel has announced that 37 aid organisations operating in Gaza will be banned from continuing their work from Thursday unless they comply with new guidelines requiring detailed information on Palestinian staff. The deadline for NGOs to submit the information expires at midnight on Wednesday."They refuse to provide lists of their Palestinian employees because they know, just as we know, that some of them are involved in terrorism or linked to Hamas," spokesman for the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Gilad Zwick was quoted as saying by AFP."I highly doubt that what they haven't done for 10 months, they will suddenly do in less than 12 hours," Zwick added. "We certainly won't accept any cooperation that is just for show, simply to get an extension."Among the 37 NGOs potentially affected is the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which Israel alleges employed two staff members linked to Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Other organisations on the list include the Norwegian Refugee Council, World Vision International, CARE, and Oxfam, according to information provided by Israeli officials.Israel has stated that the new regulations are intended to prevent organisations it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating in the Palestinian territories.On Tuesday, authorities clarified that "acts of delegitimising Israel" or denying events related to Hamas’ October 7 attack could lead to license withdrawal.The decision has drawn criticism from the United Nations and the European Union.In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland described international NGOs as essential to the humanitarian response in Gaza, calling any effort to restrict their operations "unacceptable."The European Union cautioned that Israel's move would prevent "life-saving" aid from reaching the people of Gaza."The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form," EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib said through a post on X. The Humanitarian Country Team for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a forum comprising UN agencies and over 200 local and international NGOs, has called on Israeli authorities to reconsider the registration decisions. The group noted that international NGOs operate or support the majority of Gaza’s field hospitals and primary healthcare centres, emergency shelter programs, water and sanitation services, nutrition centres for children with acute malnutrition, and essential mine action activities, as cited by the BBC.