Humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank are facing a substantial risk of disruption due to new registration requirements imposed by Israel. These stringent rules, which were introduced in March, could lead to the suspension of vital life-saving services for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable individuals. Aid agencies have expressed serious concerns that many organizations may fail to comply with the impending December 31st deadline.
The core of the problem is a newly established registration framework for international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Organizations that do not successfully complete this process face the possibility of being shut down within 60 days after the deadline. This has generated widespread apprehension within the humanitarian community, prompting a joint statement from the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This forum, which includes UN agencies and over 200 local and international organizations, articulated grave reservations about the system. They stated that the framework relies on vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized criteria, imposing requirements that humanitarian organizations cannot meet without violating international legal obligations or compromising core humanitarian principles.
To date, approximately 100 INGOs have submitted their applications for registration. However, the review process has been notably slow and is marked by considerable uncertainty. Fourteen applications have already been rejected, while only 21 have received approval, leaving the majority of submissions still under assessment. This limited progress, combined with the rejection of several applications, has fueled fears that a significant portion of the essential aid infrastructure could be dismantled. The Humanitarian Country Team underscored this concern, noting that the currently registered INGOs represent only a fraction of the overall response in Gaza and are far from the number needed to address immediate and basic needs.
The potential consequences of such a collapse in humanitarian aid delivery would be catastrophic. INGOs currently provide substantial support for essential services in Gaza, including the operation of most field hospitals and primary healthcare centres. They are instrumental in delivering emergency shelter, vital water and sanitation infrastructure, critical nutrition support for malnourished children, and mine action initiatives. The potential withdrawal of these organizations would plunge an already dire humanitarian situation into further crisis, exacerbating suffering and jeopardizing countless lives.
Conversely, Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism has asserted that the departure of any perceived "rogue organizations" would not impede overall aid delivery. This assertion stands in stark contrast to the assessments of the aid agencies on the ground, who foresee a severe curtailment of essential services. The criteria for registration, as described by the Humanitarian Country Team, appear to present a significant obstacle, with organizations reporting that compliance is not possible without contravening international legal obligations or fundamental humanitarian principles. The coming months will be crucial in determining the fate of these indispensable operations and the well-being of the populations they serve.