Israel warns it will suspend several Gaza aid organisations for not providing Palestinian staff details, alleging MSF employed two with militant links.
JERUSALEM: Israel warned on Tuesday it would suspend several aid organisations operating in Gaza from January for failing to provide details about their Palestinian staff.
The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said the move was part of a decision to strengthen regulations governing international NGOs in the territory.
“Humanitarian organisations that fail to meet security and transparency requirements will have their licences suspended,” the ministry stated.
It said organisations that refused to submit a list of their Palestinian employees to rule out terrorist links had received formal notice of revocation from January 1.
The unnamed organisations were ordered to cease all activities by March 1.
The ministry said the groups were given 10 months to provide the information but failed to comply.
It alleged that Doctors Without Borders (MSF) had employed two individuals with links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“Despite repeated requests, the organisation did not provide full disclosure regarding the identities and roles of these individuals,” the statement added.
MSF told AFP it “would never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity” as they would pose a danger.
The charity said it continues to engage with Israeli authorities and has not yet received a decision on re-registration.
The ministry said its latest measures would not affect the overall delivery of aid to Gaza.
“Only a limited number of organisations — less than 15% — were found to be in violation of the regulatory framework,” it said.
Several NGOs told AFP the new rules will have a major impact on aid distribution in the territory.
Humanitarian organisations say the amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate.
While an October ceasefire stipulated 600 aid trucks daily, only 100 to 300 are entering, according to NGOs and the UN.
COGAT, the Israeli defence body for Palestinian civilian affairs, said last week an average of 4,200 aid trucks enter Gaza weekly, corresponding to around 600 daily.
