JERUSALEM: Israel warned on Tuesday that it would suspend from January several aid organizations operating in Gaza for failing to provide details about their Palestinian staff, accusing two Doctors Without Borders employees of links to militant groups.
The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said in a statement the move was part of Israel's decision to "strengthen and update" regulations governing the activities of international NGOs in the Palestinian territory.
"Humanitarian organizations that fail to meet security and transparency requirements will have their licenses suspended," the ministry said.
It added that organizations that "failed to cooperate and refused to submit a list of their Palestinian employees in order to rule out any links to terrorism" had received formal notice that their licenses would be revoked as of January 1.
The organizations concerned — whose names were not disclosed — were ordered to cease all activities by March 1.
The ministry said the groups were given 10 months to provide the requested information, but "nonetheless failed to comply with the requirements."
The ministry told AFP earlier this month that as of November 25, approximately 100 registration requests had been submitted and "only 14 organization requests have been rejected."
"The remainder have been approved or are currently under review," it added.
In its statement on Tuesday, the ministry alleged after an investigation that the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) had employed two individuals with links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, respectively.
"Despite repeated requests, the organization did not provide full disclosure regarding the identities and roles of these individuals," the statement added.
When contacted, MSF said it "would never knowingly employ people engaging in military activity" as they would "pose a danger to our staff and our patients."
The charity added that it "continues to engage and discuss with Israeli authorities," and that it has "not yet received a decision on re-registration."
The ministry said its latest measures would not affect the delivery of aid to Gaza.
"Only a limited number of organizations — less than 15% — were found to be in violation of the regulatory framework," it said.
Several NGOs have told AFP the new rules will have a major impact on aid distribution in Gaza.
Humanitarian organizations say that the amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate.
While the October 10 ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations.
COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said last week that on average, 4,200 aid trucks enter Gaza weekly, which corresponds to around 600 daily.
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