Aid groups accuse Israel of ‘weaponising’ Gaza relief

Over 100 NGOs, including Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders, accused Israel of using aid as a political tool in Gaza. They warn new vetting rules endanger staff and block relief, as Israel denies the claims and blames Hamas exploitation.

Jerusalem: More than 100 nonprofit groups warned Thursday that Israel’s rules for aid groups working in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank will block much-needed relief and replace independent organisations with those that serve Israel’s political and military agenda — charges that Israel denied.

A letter signed by organisations including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and CARE accused Israel of “weaponising aid” as people starve in war-torn Gaza and using it as a tool to entrench control.

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The groups were responding to registration rules announced by Israel in March that require organisations to hand over full lists of their donors and Palestinian staff for vetting.

The groups contend that doing so could endanger their staff and give Israel broad grounds to block aid if groups are deemed to be “delegitimising” the country or supporting boycotts or divestment.

The registration measures were “designed to control independent organisations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting,” they said.

The letter added that the rules violate European data privacy regulations, noting that in some cases aid groups have been given only seven days to comply.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, denied the letter’s claims. It alleged the groups were being used as cover by Hamas to “exploit the aid to strengthen its military capabilities and consolidate its control” in Gaza.

“The refusal of some international organisations to provide the information and cooperate with the registration process raises serious concerns about their true intention,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

“The alleged delay in aid entry… occurs only when organisations choose not to meet the basic security requirements intended to prevent Hamas’s involvement.”

Israel has long claimed that aid groups and United Nations agencies issue biased assessments.

The aid groups stressed on Thursday that most of them haven’t been able to deliver “a single truck” of life-saving assistance since Israel implemented a blockade in March.

A vast majority of aid isn’t reaching civilians in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed, most of the population has been displaced and famine looms. UN agencies and a small number of aid groups have resumed delivering assistance, but say the number of trucks allowed in remains far from sufficient.

Meanwhile, tensions have flared over Israel and the United States backing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to serve as the main distributor of aid in the besieged territory.

The American contractor, meant to replace the traditional UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, has faced international condemnation after hundreds of Palestinians were killed while trying to get food near its distribution sites.

Israel has pressed UN agencies to accept military escorts to deliver goods into Gaza, a demand the agencies have largely rejected, citing their commitment to neutrality.

The standoff has been the source of competing claims: Israel maintains it allows aid into Gaza that adheres to its rules, while aid groups that have long operated in Gaza decry the amount of life-saving supplies stuck at border crossings.

“Oxfam has over $2.5 million worth of goods that have been rejected from entering Gaza by Israel, especially WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) items as well as food,” said Bushra Khalidi, an aid official with Oxfam in Gaza.

Aid groups’ “ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out,” she added.