Photo credit: Strait Times
Israel is continuing to starve Gaza while banning nongovernmental organizations from delivering aid unless they hand over details of their Palestinian staff, more than 100 NGOs have said in a joint statement.
Politico reports that most humanitarian groups have not been able to deliver any aid since March 2, despite Israel’s claims that there are no limits on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
In July, Israel denied more than 60 requests from nonprofits to supply aid to Gaza because the organizations were “not authorized” under NGO registration rules introduced in March, according to the statement.
The rules allow the government to deny registration on the basis f what the NGOs called ” vague and politicized” criteria, including alleged “delegitimization” or calls for a boycott of Israel. The registration also requires details of private donors, complete Palestinian staff lists, and personnel data.
Just 1,535 trucks have entered Gaza over the past 17 days. This is far short of what is needed to meet the minimum needs of the territory’s 2.4 million people, according to Palestinian officials.
