Israel stopping 35 NGOS from working in West Bank or Gaza

I use the term Gazans and Palestinians interchangeably to discuss the Palestinians who live in Gaza and have always done this on MN across multiple discussions. So your presumptions are wrong.

Yes I do know what is happening in the West Bank and no, I don't agree with what the Settlers are doing there and what the Israel government is allowing there, but this thread is about the NGOs and whether the new conditions put upon them are arbitrary or justified.

Pull the other one 😴 Where does staff not being able to express support for accountability for Israeli violations of international law fall into this? Do you think that is a fair requirement? Do you support accountability for International law violations?

It's not just Gazans is it Twiglets? It's Palestinians as a whole, I'm presuming you said Gazans because you know full well what is happening in the West Bank, you know the extent of their mistreatment by both the Israeli government and Israeli civillians and you can't come up with a snappy excuse for that. The Israeli government have no respect for anyone outside of Israel that has been shown by their behaviour time and time again.

Pull the other one 😴 Where does staff not being able to express support for accountability for Israeli violations of international law fall into this? Do you think that is a fair requirement? Do you support accountability for International law violations?

It's not just Gazans is it Twiglets? It's Palestinians as a whole, I'm presuming you said Gazans because you know full well what is happening in the West Bank, you know the extent of their mistreatment by both the Israeli government and Israeli civillians and you can't come up with a snappy excuse for that. The Israeli government have no respect for anyone outside of Israel that has been shown by their behaviour time and time again.

The NGOs are not being bullied, they are being asked to provide information necessary for the security of Israel, which they have the option of not providing, which quite a few are doing. The conditions are not arbitrary but understandable given the security aspects as mentioned by @Ihatetomatoes

Gazans may also find that things go smoother for them if the large number that support Hamas stop doing so. They need new leadership if their lives are to significantly improve, which I'm sure we all want to see.

It's utterly crazy the arbitrary conditions they are putting on aid workers. Of course aid workers would like to see those guilty of violating international law held to account for it. Who wouldn't, surely even the pro Israel posters here want Israel to be held to account for their violations? You can't force people to like you, when you spit on international law and harm people left right and centre of course people are going to want you to be held responsible for that. It's the same nonsense of treating Palestinians like shit and then insisting that the only reason Palestinians don't like Israel is because it's a Jewish state or because they are taught that in school.

Israel should try something radical like treating people outside of Israel like humans and they might find that things go a lot smoother for them. Nobody likes a bully and this is exactly what Israel is attempting to do to these NGOs bully them into going against what they stand for.

I haven't looked at the full information, but for my job (non charitable, finance related) I have had to provide full financial, tax, work, and residence history, criminal history (none - including parking tickets), fingerprints and physical description, along with current details for all family members to the American government (and 3 different states within America) for licensing, despite never having set foot in the US, and not planning to. If I was planning to work in the US, I would have to experience similar. I obviously also had to check all the normal stuff about not wanting to bring down America etc.

Now admittedly, this was just for key employees who required licensing - although they did require full org charts with names and positions for the company too. And this was just because there was money involved, not anything to do with terrorism.

It was shocking to me what I was expected to hand over, but none of the Americans I worked with batted an eyelid at the invasive level of information required.

It honestly doesn't so much different to that. Is what Israel are asking really that different to what most countries expect from companies asking to bring foreign employees into a country?

I haven't looked at the full information, but for my job (non charitable, finance related) I have had to provide full financial, tax, work, and residence history, criminal history (none - including parking tickets), fingerprints and physical description, along with current details for all family members to the American government (and 3 different states within America) for licensing, despite never having set foot in the US, and not planning to. If I was planning to work in the US, I would have to experience similar. I obviously also had to check all the normal stuff about not wanting to bring down America etc.

Now admittedly, this was just for key employees who required licensing - although they did require full org charts with names and positions for the company too. And this was just because there was money involved, not anything to do with terrorism.

It was shocking to me what I was expected to hand over, but none of the Americans I worked with batted an eyelid at the invasive level of information required.

It honestly doesn't so much different to that. Is what Israel are asking really that different to what most countries expect from companies asking to bring foreign employees into a country?

NGOs have been giving Palestinian staff members’s IDs to COGAT for decades so they can be vetted by Israeli intelligence before hiring and ever 6 months while employed.

You must not have looked into the new requirements at all
”Under the new provisions, INGOs already registered in Israel may face de-registration, while new applicants risk rejection based on arbitrary, politicised allegations, such as “delegitimising Israel” or expressing support for accountability for Israeli violations of international law. Other disqualifiers include public support for a boycott of Israel within the past seven years (by staff, a partner, board member, or founder) or failure to meet exhaustive reporting requirements. By framing humanitarian and human rights advocacy as a threat to the state, Israeli authorities can shut out organisations merely for speaking out about conditions they witness on the ground, forcing INGOs to choose between delivering aid and promoting respect for the protections owed to affected people.
INGOs are further required to submit complete staff lists and other sensitive information about staff and their families to Israel when applying for registration. In a context where humanitarian and healthcare workers are routinely subject to harassment, detention, and direct attacks, this raises serious protection concerns.”
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/israels-new-ingo-registration-measures-are-grave-threat-humanitarian-operations

Whatever they like, and the rest of the world is standing around feebly “disapproving”, too scared of being called “antisemitic” to do anything meaningful.

What are your thoughts on the updates above. Registration makes sense from a security point of view.

I have friends who have worked in Gaza with MAP. One, who had already been, had his permission to enter revoked at the last minute when he went for the second time. As in refused at the border, last minute. No explanation. No reason. This means he’ll never be able to volunteer in Gaza again. He’s devastated. He’s an amazing doctor and a brilliant person.

I just can’t believe this is happening. Israel - what ARE you doing???? 😔

How on earth can this be justified? Organisations like MAP which have worked for years and are fully registered. Another example of Israels inhumanity.

The NGOs have 60 days to provide the information that Israel ask for and here's a prediction for what the "international community" will do if they refuse and get de-registered: nothing. It's just more empty words.

If you struggle to understand why, then it's because what Israel is asking for does not seem that unreasonable to anyone that doesn't already hate them.

Despite Oxfam calling the new rules "arbitrary" a less biased outlook would understand why Israel wouldn't want to continue working with organisations that employ staff openly hostile to them. Grounds for rejection include:

Denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state

Denying the Holocaust or the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023

Supporting an armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or terrorist organisation

Promoting "delegitimisation campaigns" against Israel

Calling for a boycott of Israel or committing to participate in one

Supporting the prosecution of Israeli security forces in foreign or international courts

From the BBC: Israeli military body Cogat, which controls Gaza's crossings and co-ordinates aid deliveries, meanwhile said the INGOs facing suspension "did not bring aid into Gaza throughout the current ceasefire", which began 11 weeks ago. It added that "even in the past their combined contribution amounted to only about 1% of the total aid volume".

The diaspora affairs ministry said the primary reason INGOs had their licences revoked was "the refusal to provide complete and verifiable information regarding their employees," which it said was critical to preventing "the infiltration of terrorist operatives into humanitarian structures".

Fewer than 15% of the INGOs providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza were found to be in violation of the new regulatory framework, it added.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1evp7weyv2o

What is this? The slowest genocide in history then?

Would you give your staffs name to an organization that has murdered 579 aid workers and 1700 healthcare staff knowing their love of calling anyone they murder Hamas .

Not a particularly reasonable request really.

24 agencies have complied with the Israelis government’s request to name all their Palestinian workers.
This is so they can be cross checked again the Israeli’s intelligence to ensure they are not just providing aid directly to Hamas.
Seems a reasonable request, hence 24 aid agencies have already complied, and the others have 3 months to comply.

That's good then.

Having a Google shows that 24 aid agencies have complied with the requirements and are good to go!

What is this? The slowest genocide in history then?

24 agencies have complied with the Israelis government’s request to name all their Palestinian workers.
This is so they can be cross checked again the Israeli’s intelligence to ensure they are not just providing aid directly to Hamas.
Seems a reasonable request, hence 24 aid agencies have already complied, and the others have 3 months to comply.

24 agencies have complied with the Israelis government’s request to name all their Palestinian workers.
This is so they can be cross checked again the Israeli’s intelligence to ensure they are not just providing aid directly to Hamas.
Seems a reasonable request, hence 24 aid agencies have already complied, and the others have 3 months to comply.

Please can we all email our MPs about this, to ask them to try and put pressure on our Government. Starmer and Co are deliberately ignoring this, and there has been little media coverage. Heavy sanctions are the only way to pressure Israel, so we have to push our Government. I know Starmer is very reluctant, but we have to at least try. Dh and I both emailed yesterday.

It’s part of the genocide plan, the less aid and healthcare the Palestinian people can access, the more of them will die. Yet still we have the genocide deniers.