JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Tuesday said it would suspend more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, for failing to comply with new vetting rules for international organizations working in the Gaza Strip.
The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said the organizations that will be banned on January 1 do not meet new requirements for sharing information on personnel, funding and activities. He accused Doctors Without Borders, one of the largest health organizations operating in the Gaza Strip, of failing to clarify the role of some employees whom Israel accused of collaborating with Hamas and other militant groups.
International organizations have said Israel's rules are arbitrary and could put personnel at risk. The ministry said about 25 organizations, or 15% of NGOs operating in the Gaza Strip, had not renewed their permits.
Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has previously accused its employees of participating in military activities in the Gaza Strip in 2024. The group said at the time that it was “deeply concerned by these allegations and takes them very seriously.” The group said it would never knowingly employ people involved in military activities.
Israel and international organizations are at odds over the amount of aid flowing into Gaza. Israel says it is complying with aid obligations outlined in the latest ceasefire in the two-year war, which took effect on Oct. 10, but humanitarian groups dispute Israel's figures and say more aid is desperately needed in the devastated Palestinian territory of more than 2 million people.
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