International Organizations: Israel Hinders Aid Delivery to Gaza

SadaNews - More than 100 international organizations have announced that most of them have been unable to send any humanitarian aid trucks to the Gaza Strip since March of last year due to "the Israeli occupation preventing aid from reaching the people of the sector," despite "the Israeli government announcing" last month that it would allow goods to enter, according to a report by the newspaper "Haaretz" on Thursday.

The organizations, which operate in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, explained that there had been more than 60 refusals for humanitarian aid entry within just one month, resulting in millions of dollars worth of water, medicines, food, and tents being held in warehouses in Jordan and Egypt, while Palestinians are suffering from a severe shortage of food and basic necessities.

The organizations pointed out that the new procedure, which went into effect in March last year, requires all organizations to register with a joint ministerial committee headed by the Director General of the Ministry of Diaspora, accompanied by criteria that could allow for the refusal or cancellation of the registration, including political activities or calls for a boycott of Israel, or accusations of delegitimizing the state.

The procedure also requires organizations to provide detailed information about their international staff and their family members, which the organizations considered a violation of privacy laws in the European Union and their home countries.

Concerned organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Oxfam, expressed their worry that this procedure aims to monitor them, suppress their arguments, and impose censorship on humanitarian reports, calling on supporting countries and donors to pressure Israel to immediately open crossings and allow humanitarian aid to enter without restrictions.

Lawyer Yotam Ben Hillel, a representative of the association of international humanitarian organizations (AIDA), stated that the new procedure imposed by Israel on humanitarian organizations is populist in nature and primarily aims to pursue organizations that have been operating in the Palestinian territories and Gaza for decades without their activities having faced any prior criticism.

He added that the Ministry of Diaspora and the committee it formed seeks to gain complete control over these organizations, even those that adhere to neutrality and professionalism under international law, affirming that "this is unprecedented in the world. "

Ben Hillel noted that organizations are legally required to protect the privacy of their staff's information, according to strict legislation in their home countries and the European Union, making the transfer of the requested data uncertain and putting them in a difficult position: if they provide the information, they may face substantial penalties and fines in their countries; if they refuse to provide it, Israel may prevent their humanitarian activities in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, and demand the expulsion of all organization staff members if they are not approved within three weeks.

Ben Hillel considered this procedure a new renunciation of Israel's obligations under international law, reflecting a complete abandonment of the residents of Gaza, who are in dire need of food, medicine, and shelter.

For its part, Israeli authorities responded that the goal of the new measures is to ensure that aid reaches Palestinian populations directly and to prevent its exploitation by Hamas, stating that about 20 international organizations are committed to registration and approximately 300 aid trucks regularly enter the Gaza Strip.

Israel confirmed that any delays in aid entry are due to some organizations refusing to comply with the required security standards.

The Coordination Directorate of Government Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of 1967 denied allegations concerning preventing humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip, confirming that the reality is entirely the opposite.

The Directorate clarified that Israel is working to facilitate and enable aid entry to the population in Gaza, while Hamas is trying to exploit this aid to strengthen its military power and impose its control over the population, sometimes in collusion with some international organizations, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

The Directorate said, "The Israeli security institution has set up a new mechanism for aid entry into the sector, aiming to ensure that it reaches the population directly and not to Hamas. "

This mechanism requires organizations to register with the Ministry of Diaspora in Israel, including providing a list of the organization's staff working in Gaza for an initial security assessment. The registration process relies on clear professional and security standards aimed at maintaining the integrity of the humanitarian system and preventing the infiltration of armed elements into the relief mechanism, a transparent process that was previously presented to all organizations.

The Directorate confirmed that the refusal of some organizations to provide information or cooperate in the registration process raises real concerns about the integrity of their intentions and the possibility of connections between the organization or its staff and Hamas.

In contrast, about 20 international organizations that comply with the law and have completed the registration process are regularly delivering aid to the Gaza Strip in full cooperation, with the volume of aid reaching about 300 trucks daily through these organizations.

The Directorate clarified that any alleged delay in aid entry occurs only when organizations choose not to fulfill the established security conditions to prevent Hamas's involvement, calling on all international organizations concerned with delivering aid to cooperate transparently to ensure it reaches the population and not the armed movement.