Britain, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have condemned Israel’s decision to revoke the licences of 37 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Among the organisations affected are ActionAid, the International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Norwegian Refugee Council. According to the BBC, their licences will be suspended from 1 January, with all operations required to cease within 60 days.
Israel stated that the organisations had failed to provide “complete” personal details of their staff. However, INGOs have warned that complying with this requirement could place their personnel at serious risk.
The decision has drawn strong criticism from the ten countries, which said the new rules would severely restrict access to essential humanitarian services. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said INGOs were integral to the humanitarian response in Gaza and described any attempt to hinder their operations as “unacceptable”.
“Without them, it will be impossible to meet urgent needs at the scale required,” the ministers warned.
Approximately two weeks ago, United Nations food security experts reported that nutrition and food security conditions in Gaza had improved since the start of the ceasefire.
However, they noted that around 100,000 people were still living in “emergency conditions” as of last month.
kk/sa
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