NGOs in Israel on High Court ruling upholding deregistration of international humanitarian organizations:

The court endorses Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian access for Palestinians in the midst of one of the most severe crises in the region’s history

We express deep concern and outrage at the Israeli High Court’s decision to reject the petition of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) and 18 other international humanitarian organizations against the new registration procedure established by the Israeli government.

The procedure violates core humanitarian principles of independence and neutrality, and conditions humanitarian operations on irrelevant political considerations. The requirement to disclose sensitive personal data of Palestinian staff constitutes a breach of organizations’ duty of care, exposing their employees to surveillance and harm, not to mention that it would compel organizations to violate the privacy laws to which they are bound.

The court’s decision lends support to a policy that enables Israel to restrict the operations of international humanitarian organizations working in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the Gaza Strip, and thus bars Palestinians’ access to life-saving aid and essential services.

While Gaza residents face an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe following more than two and a half years of Israel’s attacks, and West Bank residents experience economic crisis and unchecked violence by settlers and Israeli security forces, Israel is using its control over humanitarian access to deepen the harm inflicted on Palestinians, all while abdicating its obligations as an occupying power under international law.

Rather than compelling the state to fulfill its obligations toward the protected population living under its control, the court has provided further backing for this policy.

We call on the international community to take concrete steps to ensure residents of the occupied Palestinian territory full, continuous, and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid and services; to protect the lives and rights of Palestinians; and to hold Israel accountable for its obligations as an occupying power under international law.

Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel | Bimkom – Planning and Human Rights | Breaking the Silence | B’Tselem | Combatants for Peace | Emek Shaveh | Gisha | HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual | Human Rights Defenders Fund | Ir Amim | Machsom Watch: Women against the Occupation and for Human Rights | Physicians for Human Rights Israel | The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel | Yesh Din