Israeli Supreme Court upholds ban on 37 NGOs operating in Palestinian Territories

The Israeli Supreme Court has confirmed the ban on 37 foreign humanitarian NGOs from operating in the Palestinian Territories, the government reported on Wednesday.

The authorities decided last year to require these organizations, for “security” reasons, to transmit lists of their Palestinian employees to be authorized to work in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

They had until the end of February to comply but the Court, seized by a consortium representing several of these NGOs, granted them a stay, without ruling on the merits of the dispute. The high authority finally validated these new procedures and gave them 30 days to comply, otherwise they will have to “cease their activities”, indicated the government press office in a press release.

She “rejected the requests (of the complainants) and the State is authorized to require NGOs to provide information on the identity of their employees”, according to the decision rendered Tuesday and sent to AFP by a lawyer in this case.

The NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and CARE, were informed on December 30, 2025 that their licenses in Israel were expiring.

“Deeply disappointing”

The Supreme Court’s decision is “deeply disappointing, because it once again reflects the marginal status accorded to international law in the Israeli judicial system,” Yotam Ben-Hillel, a lawyer representing the NGOs, reacted in a press release.

According to him, Israel cannot legally force organizations to cease their activities in the occupied West Bank and Gaza if they are registered locally. But this measure will prevent them from coordinating the entry of aid and foreign personnel with Israeli authorities, who control all access points to Gaza and the West Bank.

Cogat, an agency of the Israeli Defense Ministry responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, says the procedure aims to “ensure that Hamas does not infiltrate humanitarian organizations and use them as cover for its terrorist objectives.”

“The State of Israel will not permit terrorist activities under the guise of humanitarian action. The party is over! », rejoiced the Minister of the Diaspora and the fight against anti-Semitism, Amichai Chikli.

NGOs, including MSF, which has lost 15 employees in Gaza since the start of the war in 2023, have argued that they do not want to share the list of their employees out of fear for their safety.