After Israel banned 37 humanitarian groups from operating in the Gaza Strip for their failure to comply with new registration rules, 53 international humanitarian aid organizations issued a joint letter accusing Israel of severely threatening the delivery of food, shelter, and health care in the territory.
Among the 37 groups whose permits to serve in Gaza were revoked by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs were the faith-based relief organizations Mercy Corps, World Vision International, Caritas Jerusalem, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Near East Council of Churches. The others are secular organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE. The groups whose registrations were denied are required to cease their activities by March.
The move was immediately condemned by 10 countries. The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Britain called on Israel to ensure that aid groups can “operate in Gaza in a sustained and predictable way.”
