Foreign NGOs say new Israeli rules keep them from delivering Gaza aid
Gaza - New Israeli legislation regulating foreign aid groups has been increasingly used to deny their requests to bring supplies into Gaza, according to a joint letter signed by more than 100 groups published Thursday.
"Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to bring in lifesaving goods, citing that these organisations are 'not authorised to deliver aid,'" the joint statement reads.
According to the letter, whose signatories include Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), at least 60 requests to bring aid into Gaza were rejected in July alone.
In March, Israel's government approved a new set of rules for foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with Palestinians.
The law updates the framework for how aid groups must register to maintain their status within Israel, along with provisions that outline how their applications can be denied or registration revoked.
Registration can be rejected if Israeli authorities deem that a group denies the democratic character of Israel or "promotes delegitimization campaigns" against the country.
"Unfortunately, many aid organizations serve as a cover for hostile and sometimes violent activity," Israel's Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli told AFP.
"Organizations that have no connection to hostile or violent activity and no ties to the boycott movement will be granted permission to operate," added Chikli, whose ministry directed an effort to produce the new guideline.
Gaza aid groups denounce Israeli restrictions
Aid groups say, however, that the new rules are leaving Gazans without help.
"Our mandate is to save lives, but due to the registration restrictions civilians are being left without the food, medicine and protection they urgently need," said Jolien Veldwijk, director of the charity CARE in the Palestinian territories.
Veldwijk said that CARE has not been able to deliver any aid to Gaza since Israel imposed a full blockade on the Palestinian territory in March, despite slightly easing it in May.
Since May, the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has managed a mere four food distribution centers after Israel cut off long-established international aid delivery channels.
GHF distribution points have been described as "death traps" as Israeli forces regularly open fire on Palestinians seeking food aid.
Cover photo: Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP