GAZA: New rules in Israel for registering nongovernmental organizations, under which more than a dozen groups have already been rejected, could have a catastrophic impact on aid work in Gaza and the West Bank, relief workers warn.
The NGOs have until Dec. 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims not to impede aid distribution but to prevent “hostile actors or supporters of terrorism” operating in the Palestinian territories.
The controversy comes with Gaza, which lacks running water and electricity, still battling a humanitarian crisis even after the US-brokered October ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said that, as of November 2025, approximately 100 registration requests had been submitted and “only 14 organization requests have been rejected ... The remainder have been approved or are currently under review.”
Requests are rejected for “organizations involved in terrorism, antisemitism, delegitimization of Israel, denial of the crimes of Oct. 8,” it said.
