Israel Must End Its Assault on Humanitarian Action and Civil Society

January 12, 2026 - We, the undersigned Palestinian Arab human rights and civil society organizations in Israel, strongly condemn the Israeli government’s escalating measures targeting humanitarian action, civil society, and human rights organizations operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, as well as in Israel. These measures constitute a deliberate and unlawful attack on civilian protection, humanitarian assistance, and fundamental freedoms, and form part of Israel’s broader pattern of grave violations of international law.

On 30 December 2025, 37 international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGOs) were formally notified by Israeli authorities that their registrations would expire on 31 December 2025, triggering compulsory cessation procedures unless they comply with newly imposed registration requirements. These measures threaten the immediate suspension of life-saving humanitarian, development, and human rights work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. At a time when the civilian population in Gaza- is facing a catastrophic humanitarian condition following more than two years of genocide, sustained military assaults, mass destruction, forced displacement, and widespread depravation of basic necessity.  

These actions are not isolated administrative decisions, but form part of a systematic assault on civil society and independent international engagement related to Palestine. Through politicized registration regimes, mass deregistration threats, and coercive compliance requirements, Israeli authorities seek to silence, control, and delegitimize organizations engaged in humanitarian assistance, human rights documentation, legal advocacy, and international accountability, thereby shrinking civic space and suppressing scrutiny of Israel’s conduct.

This framework is designed to paralyze civil society by creating legal uncertainty, operational instability, financial vulnerability, and a constant risk of expulsion or closure. It is reinforced through discriminatory enforcement, financial restrictions, and administrative harassment that render sustained humanitarian and human rights work practically impossible, in violation of the rights to freedom of association and expression under international human rights law.

International humanitarian and human rights organizations operate under the principles of independence, neutrality, and impartiality, and are protected under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Measures imposing political vetting, ideological conditions, or intrusive disclosure requirements violate these protections and undermine the safety and legitimacy of humanitarian actors and human rights defenders, directly contravening Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention and its human rights treaty obligations.

These measures operate alongside grave violations, including the destruction of civilian infrastructure, forced displacement, starvation, and the denial of medical care. Targeting humanitarian organizations and UN agencies removes witnesses, silences documentation, and shields violations and potential international crimes from accountability. At the same time, human rights defenders, staff members, and international activists are subjected to surveillance, harassment, movement restrictions, and denial of entry, in violation of international protections.

The forced suspension or prohibition of humanitarian and human rights organizations in an occupied territory constitutes a serious violation of international law. Under international humanitarian law, an occupying power is obligated to allow and facilitate humanitarian relief for the civilian population. Under international human rights law, it is prohibited from arbitrarily restricting civil society or targeting human rights defenders. Such actions may amount to collective punishment, which is explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law.

By criminalizing humanitarian and human rights work, Israeli authorities are attacking not only civil society, but the international legal order designed to protect civilians, humanitarian actors, and human rights defenders. Domestic administrative or security justifications cannot legitimize measures that have no validity under international law, nor can they shield Israel from international responsibility.

Decades of international inaction and failure to impose consequences for Israel’s violations of international law have emboldened these practices. Humanitarian assistance is increasingly reframed as a punishable act, while accountability mechanisms are systematically undermined. This normalization of restrictions on humanitarian action and civil society poses severe risks to civilian protection and the rule of law.

We therefore urgently call on the international community, including United Nations bodies and all states, to:

• Demand the immediate revocation of all measures restricting or deregistering humanitarian and human rights organizations;

• Publicly affirm that these measures have no legal validity under international law;

• Defend humanitarian action, civil society, and human rights work, and reject their criminalization;

• Continue funding and cooperating with affected organizations without political conditions or compliance with unlawful restrictions.

The response to this moment will test the international community’s commitment to international law and civilian protection. Silence and inaction will only entrench impunity and legitimize the dismantling of humanitarian space.

Humanitarian action, human rights work, and civic space are protected, indispensable, and non-negotiable.

Signed,

7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media

Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel 

Women Against Violence 

Assiwar - arab feminist movement

Baladna - Arab youth association

The Arab Center for Alternative Planning

Tishreen Association

Citizens For The Environment

Al-Tufula : The Nazareth Nurseries Institute

Mada al-Carmel – Arab Center for Applied Social Research