UN rights chief slams ‘outrageous’ Israel suspension of aid groups in Gaza

The United Nations rights chief described Wednesday Israel’s threat to suspend dozens of aid groups from operating in Gaza from January as “outrageous,” calling on states to urgently insist Israel shift course.

“Israel’s suspension of numerous aid agencies from Gaza is outrageous,” Volker Turk says in a statement.

“Such arbitrary suspensions make an already intolerable situation even worse for the people of Gaza,” he warns.

“This is the latest in a pattern of unlawful restrictions on humanitarian access,” Turk says, pointing to Israel’s ban on the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and “attacks on Israeli and Palestinian NGOs amid broader access issues faced by the UN and other humanitarians.”

“I urge all States, in particular those with influence, to take urgent steps and insist that Israel immediately allows aid to get into Gaza unhindered,” he says.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says he wants to “remind the Israeli authorities of their obligation under international law to ensure the essential supplies of daily life in Gaza.”

This, he stresses, includes “allowing and facilitating humanitarian relief.”

The Diaspora Affairs Ministry announced Tuesday that the licenses of 37 international nonprofits operating in Gaza and the West Bank that did not comply with stringent new requirements to register with the government will expire on January 1.

The Defense Ministry said the expiration of the licenses will not affect aid provision in Gaza, where humanitarian groups continue to claim Israel is letting in too little assistance. The Diaspora Ministry described the new rules, instituted in March, as a safety measure meant to weed out nonprofit workers with ties to terror groups.