Political Control Over Aid: How Do Israel and the United States Restructure International Law on the Ruins of Gaza?

Today, in Israel, licenses of 37 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were revoked, and these organizations, which operate in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, will have their licenses expire on January 1.

Although Israel had conditioned the continuation of the work of international organizations on prior registration, a condition imposed before the ceasefire and the ratification of the Security Council’s resolution on Gaza, what followed revealed that the procedure was neither regulatory nor administrative, but rather part of a pre-prepared political plan to dismantle the relief system, rather than to regulate it. With the ceasefire in place, it does not seem that the United States and Israel are moving towards alleviating the humanitarian disaster; on the contrary, they are playing a systematic destructive role targeting the international humanitarian and judicial system, in a clear attempt to redefine the rules of international law and humanitarian law, to deny Israel's crimes in the Gaza Strip, and to provide a political and legal cover that ensures impunity.

What is happening today is not limited to obstructing aid or administrative tightening, but represents a conscious attempt to reshape the international system itself, on the basis of the law of power rather than the power of law, serving exclusively Israeli interests at the expense of the rights of the Palestinian people, the dignity of the victims, and the meaning of international justice. In this sense, Israel is not managing a humanitarian crisis; rather, it is using it as a tool of sovereignty and redefining international law as a privilege it grants or withdraws according to its political and military calculations.

In this context, UN agencies and dozens of NGOs have denounced, in a joint statement, the new Israeli registration procedures, describing them as "ambiguous, arbitrary, and highly politicized." These procedures are not technical or regulatory; they represent a direct political control tool over humanitarian work in Gaza, turning it into a field subject to the conditions of occupation and its security priorities.

The prevention of several international organizations from registering, including well-established organizations, opens the door to a tangible collapse of the relief network in a sector where more than two million people depend on aid to survive. Refusing registration means expelling international staff, halting operations, and cutting access to the banking system, effectively paralyzing these organizations' ability to function.

The United Nations has clearly warned that the collapse of international NGOs cannot be compensated, as these organizations inject more than one billion dollars annually into Gaza, manage about a third of hospital beds, most centers for treating malnutrition, and around 70% of food distribution points.

As for the Israeli justifications for refusing registration, such as "antisemitism," "terrorism," and "delegitimizing Israel," they are merely elastic concepts used to silence any entity that documents crimes or provides testimonies from victims, converting human rights criticism into a political crime. Thus, human rights concepts themselves become tools for prosecution, and human solidarity is redefined as a security threat.

In the same context, Israel has revoked work permits from international humanitarian organizations to prevent them from operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, claiming that they did not complete the registration procedures, while repeatedly accusing some staff of being involved in "terrorist activity."
Israeli lawyers confirmed that the authorities do not provide any evidence, making legal defense nearly impossible, while organizations that refuse to provide sensitive information about their Palestinian staff are immediately classified as "hostile," in a blatant attempt to subject humanitarian work to security and military control.

Here, the discussion is no longer about aid or relief, but about complete political subjugation: who is allowed to work, who receives assistance, how, and under what conditions and rhetoric.

The most dangerous aspect is what is being prepared for after December 31. According to European diplomatic sources, the United States is seeking to "start from scratch" in coordinating humanitarian work, effectively emptying Gaza of organizations with accumulated experience and replacing them with new entities that lack a field presence but are politically aligned with the US-Israeli vision.

The talk about "beneficiary checks," distribution conditions, and direct military administration reveals that the objective is not relief, but controlling the Palestinian society and socially and politically restructuring it under the names of "stability" and "peace."

Yesterday, Britain, France, Canada, along with several other countries, issued a joint statement expressing concern over "the renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip." Among the countries supporting the statement were Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Japan. However, these delayed diplomatic stances remain futile, lacking real pressure, despite more than 80 days having passed since the ceasefire.

Concurrently, the United States is intensifying efforts to undermine what remains of the international justice system by imposing illegal sanctions on judges of the International Criminal Court for their participation in investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The court has described these sanctions as a "blatant attack on the independence of international justice," asserting that targeting judges for applying the law threatens the entire international legal system. The American message is clear: justice is only permissible when it does not touch Israel.

This cannot be separated from the Western and Arab positions. With the seriousness of subjecting humanitarian work and targeting the independence of international justice, the majority of Western countries have responded with feeble reactions, expressing concern or calling for "restraint," without practical steps or genuine political pressure. This silent complicity has given the United States and Israel a wide margin to impose new rules that undermine the status of international law and entrench its selective application. Additionally, the adoption of the Israeli narrative by some Western countries under the banners of "security" and "counter-terrorism" has come at the expense of principles they have long claimed to adhere to, making the defense of humanitarian work and judicial independence conditional on the identity of the victims rather than on legal reference.

The Arab stance appears inadequate to keep pace with the scale of ongoing transformations. Except for general political statements, Arab countries have failed to formulate a collective position capable of exerting pressure or influencing, or utilizing their diplomatic, legal, and economic tools. This shortcoming reflects not only a weakness in action but leaves Palestinians in Gaza facing policies imposed on their lives and dignity without an active regional support.

What is happening in Gaza transcends war and destruction, turning the region into a testing ground for redefining international law, humanitarian work, and justice, according to the logic of domination and impunity. Israel does not just starve Gaza; it seeks to control who provides food, who documents its suffering, and who demands justice for its victims. Meanwhile, the United States provides the political and legal cover, punishing anyone who dares to break this equation.
In this scene, Gaza is not the only target; the very concept of humanity is targeted, and international law is being reshaped to serve the logic of power rather than justice.