Haaretz: Israel imposes conditions preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza and has forced dozens of humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank to halt their activities

Israeli Haaretz newspaper revealed on Tuesday a new Israeli measure that forced dozens of humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank to stop their activities.

Haaretz said that dozens of organizations that had previously obtained Israeli approval are now being forced to cease their work due to a strict procedure, leaving thousands of tons of food and relief equipment outside Gaza.

The Israeli newspaper explained that the measure tightens the conditions for organizations to enter Gaza and the West Bank, and obliges them to provide details about their employees and their families.

“Despite the calm that has prevailed in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 10, the humanitarian situation in the Strip remains extremely difficult”.

Haaretz explained that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are still living in tents.

Water, sewage and electricity networks are destroyed, hospitals are collapsing under the weight of the wounded and sick, food prices are high, and a large part of the Palestinian population depends on humanitarian aid to survive.

The new procedure was prepared last March, after the registration of organizations was transferred from the Ministry of Welfare to the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, headed by Amichai Shekli (of the Likud party).

Haaretz explained that under this procedure, organizations are required to provide Israel with a large number of documents, including a list of all their foreign and Palestinian employees, and information about their family members.

Haaretz added: “The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs now also has broad powers to reject applications from organizations”.

Haaretz added that the ministry has the right to reject an organization if it’s found to deny the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state or to work to delegitimize Israel.

Haaretz continued: “An additional reason for refusing to grant a permit to a humanitarian organization is its support for ‘the trial of Israeli citizens in a foreign country or before an international court,’ referring to their alleged crimes during the genocidal war in Gaza”.

Since the beginning of last September, the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs has announced that it has rejected 14 out of 100 applications submitted by organizations, while the remaining applications are still under review.

Some of the organizations that were approved were working with what was called the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” an organization established by Israel and the United States last May.

The United States and Israel sought to distribute humanitarian aid through this organization, instead of relying on the United Nations and major humanitarian organizations in the Gaza Strip. The organization faced severe criticism before it was shut down last October.

Haaretz said that without official registration, humanitarian organizations are not allowed to bring food or any aid into Gaza, and their staff cannot obtain entry visas to Israel, which are required to work inside Israel or the occupied West Bank.

The lack of permits also makes it difficult for these organizations to enter or leave Gaza, and they are also prohibited from purchasing equipment or transporting it through Israel.

Among the organizations that have been waiting for months for an official response are some of the world’s largest institutions, such as Oxfam, Save the Children, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

The organizations doubt their ability to pass the Israeli registration process, as many of them refused to submit lists of the names of their Palestinian and foreign workers.

“These organizations say that transferring information may violate privacy laws and other laws in their home countries,” according to Haaretz newspaper.

Haaretz newspaper said that in recent weeks, Israel has made it more difficult for organizations to bring food and equipment into Gaza via alternative routes.

Haaretz explained that organizations that didn’t obtain a permit to bring goods into Gaza turned to UN agencies, or other organizations that had a permit, and asked them to bring in the purchased goods, but Israel prevented this step as well.

Haaretz reported: “As a result, a large number of equipment and supplies are stuck in Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, such as mattresses, tents, plastic sheeting, water desalination equipment, insulation materials, winter clothing, personal hygiene supplies and large quantities of food”.

Haaretz quoted Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy director in the Palestinian territories, as saying that this measure is part of a broader Israeli policy that constitutes collective punishment that makes Gaza an unlivable place.

Since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, Israel has continued to violate it, either by carrying out attacks or by preventing the entry of humanitarian aid in the agreed-upon quantities.

According to government statistics, the average number of trucks that have entered since the start of the agreement doesn’t exceed 89 trucks per day out of the 600 trucks that are supposed to enter every day to secure the minimum basic needs of the Palestinians.