A British-founded charity that claims more than 500 aid workers have died in the war-torn Strip will not comply with Israel’s demands.
Oxfam said it would not disclose the personal information of its Palestinian staff to Israel, citing deadly attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza that left hundreds of aid workers dead.
As part of a crackdown on NGOs providing life-saving aid to Palestinians, Israel last year demanded that some world-renowned charities operating in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem hand over detailed information about their Palestinian and international staff, operations and funding.
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Israel on January 1 revoked the licenses of 37 aid organizations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, claiming they were not complying with new “security and transparency standards”.
But Oxfam said it would not share data on Palestinian employees.
An Oxfam spokesperson told Al Jazeera: “We do not transfer sensitive personal data to parties to a conflict as this would violate humanitarian principles, duties of care and data protection obligations.” “More than 500 humanitarian workers have been killed since October 7, 2023.”
“We call on the Israeli government to immediately halt the deregistration process and lift measures that impede humanitarian assistance,” the spokesperson said. “We urge donor governments to use all available tools to ensure that these measures are halted and reversed.”
According to rules set by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, the information handed over includes copies of passports, resumes and names of family members, including children. He said he rejects organizations suspected of denying the existence of the state of Israel, denying the Holocaust, and inciting racism. It would also ban activities deemed to support “an armed struggle against the State of Israel by enemy states or terrorist organizations.”
Israel announced that 23 organizations have agreed to new registration rules. Others are understood to have refused or are considering their decisions.
The Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) condemned the organization for complying with Israeli demands.
“PNGO emphasizes the grave risks inherent in this measure, which is a clear violation of the principles of international humanitarian law and established humanitarian working standards,” it said, adding that complying with Israeli orders poses a “direct threat” to the safety and security of local personnel.
Médecins Sans Frontières, known by its French initials MSF, acknowledged on Saturday that the request was “unreasonable” but said it was ready to share with Israel “a defined list of the names of Palestinian and international staff, subject to clear criteria with staff safety at its core.”
MSF’s decision was criticized by some doctors, activists and advocates as potentially putting Palestinians at risk, given Israel’s history of targeting aid workers through its massacres in the Gaza Strip.
A former MSF employee told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity: “It is extremely worrying that MSF would take such a decision.
“MSF faces an extremely difficult decision: accede to the demands of a genocidal regime or reject it. In the coming weeks it will face total expulsion and an abrupt end to all health activities. But what is humanitarianism under genocide? There must be an alternative. An alternative that demands a bolder and more disruptive approach to humanitarianism in the face of such brutal political decline.”
Palestinians account for nearly a fifth of all aid workers killed since record-keeping began, according to the International Rescue Committee, one of 37 aid organizations reportedly considering the request.
