Israel's High Court on Friday issued a "temporary injunction" enabling 37 NGOs to continue their work in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, effectively setting aside a March 1 deadline issued by the government for them to halt operations.
The international aid organisations lodged an urgent joint appeal on Thursday before the court, in a last-ditch effort to reverse the decision banning them from working in the Palestinian territories.
Last year, Israel announced a disputed registration process for NGOs intending to work in the West Bank and Gaza.
The process requires groups to submit a list of all Palestinian and foreign staff “involved in the management and implementation” of operations – including names, passport numbers and identification numbers – to the Ministry of Diaspora and Combatting Anti-Semitism.
The NGOs told The National such a move would endanger staff and needlessly place Palestinians on the ministry's radar.
Some groups said it contravened European data privacy laws, which their operations are subject to. Among the petition's 37 signatories are Oxfam, the Danish Refugee Council, Tearfund and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
The court found “there is a real legal dispute regarding the restrictions that the petitioners claim apply to them under European Union law and that prevent them from providing their employees' details in accordance with the threshold requirements of the new procedure”.
The presiding judge issued an order allowing the NGOs to work temporarily until the matter is clarified and “a different decision is made”. The decision does not grant NGOs additional access. There was no immediate reaction from the applicants.
Shortly after the ruling, Oxfam's policy lead Bushra Khalidi praised the decision but addressed its interim nature.
“When the court issues its final decision on the petition submitted by Oxfam and others, we hope it recognises the very real threat to civilian lives and upholds humanitarian principles and international law.”
Before the court's decision, two major charities working in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the NRC, had vowed to continue their operations.
On February 1, Israel announced it was terminating MSF's humanitarian operations in the enclave after the charity failed to provide a list of Palestinian staff. MSF has called the move a “pretext” to obstruct aid deliveries.
“Since the beginning of January, MSF has been prevented by the Israeli authorities from bringing international staff and additional supplies” into Gaza, the group said on Friday.
Abandoned to their fate
This has affected its medical operations, which were already facing severe shortages. “Amid ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, MSF will stay in the [occupied Palestinian territories] for as long as possible, doing as much as we can,” MSF secretary general Christopher Lockyear said. “We call on the Israeli authorities to enable humanitarian aid at scale and on the international community to ensure Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are not abandoned to their fate.”
The NRC's communications adviser in Palestine, Shaina Low told The National that the Palestinian Authority is authorised to invite aid groups to work in Palestine. “Our teams are committed to ensuring continuity of operations and that they're continuing to work in their communities as best they can,” she said.
The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora's registration requirements appear vague and subject to interpretation. Grounds for rejection include having staff who participated in terrorist activities or incitement against Israel, but also any office holder, partner, board member or founder who has “called for a boycott of the state of Israel” in the past seven years.
Israel as the occupying power has responsibilities to fill any gaps left by charities, which are supplying people in the West Bank and Gaza with vital services such as nutrition, shelter and education.
But Israel has also passed laws banning its officials from communicating with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and has prohibited that agency from bringing aid into Gaza or operating in the West Bank. With 12,000 staff, UNRWA has the largest humanitarian workforce in Gaza and is relied on by many NGOs for its vast network and warehouses.
Israel banned UNRWA after accusing several of its employees, without providing evidence, of participating in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed nearly 1,200 people and triggered the war. Israel has since devastated the enclave, killing more than 72,000 people, including at least 620 since a ceasefire began in October last year.
In the same month, International Court of Justice President Yuji Iwasawa said Israel had not substantiated its claims against UNRWA and ruled it was required to allow UN agencies to provide aid relief.
