Israel’s threat to withhold registration from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and other international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) is a cynical and calculated attempt to prevent organisations from providing services in Gaza and the West Bank, in breach of Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.
Denying medical assistance to civilians is unacceptable under any circumstances and it is appalling to use humanitarian aid as a tool of policy or collective punishment. Now is the time for action. Israel is escalating its grave attack on humanitarian response, directly threatening medical care and humanitarian aid to civilians.
MSF unequivocally refutes the allegations made by the Israeli authorities in recent days. MSF would never knowingly employ anyone involved in military activities, which contradicts our core values and ethics. If the descriptions of what our teams see with their own eyes in Gaza – death, destruction and the human consequences of genocidal violence – are unpalatable to some – the fault lies with those committing these atrocities, not with those who speak of them.
MSF has legitimate concerns around the registration requirement to share personal information of our Palestinian staff with Israeli authorities, heightened by the fact that 15 MSF colleagues have been killed by Israeli forces. In any context – especially one where medical and humanitarian workers have been intimidated, arbitrarily detained, attacked, and killed in large numbers – demanding staff lists as a condition for access to territory is an outrageous overreach. It undermines humanitarian independence and neutrality and is made all the more dangerous by the absence of any clarity about how such sensitive data will be used, stored, or shared. Yet, rather than engage with MSF to hear our concerns, the Ministry in charge of the registration process has ignored our repeated requests for a meeting and accuses us in the media of knowingly harbouring alleged terrorists.
Israeli forces have killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of civilians, deliberately destroying essential infrastructure, targeting medical staff, humanitarians and journalists. It has taken control of more than half of the Gaza Strip, forced the population into ever-shrinking areas under inhumane conditions, and manufactured shortages of basic necessities by blocking and delaying the entry of essential goods, including medical supplies.
Currently, MSF supports one in five of Gaza’s hospital beds and assists one in three mothers during childbirth. The support we provide is nowhere enough to meet the needs of Palestinians, yet removing it will have a terrible cost. For Israel to block MSF and dozens of other organisations from providing services to Palestinians, after Israeli forces have obliterated Gaza’s health system, is an escalation of the attacks carried out against Palestinians during the last two years.
Services available for people in Gaza now are far less than what is needed, precisely because of the blockades and restrictions imposed by Israel. For the third winter in the row, the Gaza Strip has been battered by dropping temperatures, torrential rain and heavy winds. Weather conditions have destroyed and flooded the makeshift shelters people are living in, while Israel continues to block the entry of supplies like tents, tarpaulins and temporary housing.
Now the Israeli government seeks to ban what little aid and services do exist. MSF continues to seek engagement with Israeli authorities so we can maintain our vital activities and support Gaza’s decimated health system. Allowing humanitarian aid is not a favour. It is an obligation under international law. Today, more than ever, Palestinians need more services not less.
