Twenty countries, including eighteen from Europe along with Australia and Japan, have issued a joint statement strongly condemning Israel’s new registration law for aid organizations operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The statement followed a ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court last week that upheld the ban on several NGOs. Israel has already prohibited 37 aid groups, including Oxfam, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, and the International Rescue Committee, for refusing to submit lists of their Palestinian and international staff.

The joint statement warned that the new law would severely limit humanitarian organizations’ ability to operate and respond to crises. It emphasized that aid entering Gaza remains grossly insufficient, even though nearly the entire population depends on life-saving services. The countries noted that international NGOs have been providing essential support in water, sanitation, field hospitals, education, nutrition, and mine clearance, in coordination with Palestinian civil society and the United Nations.

The signatories urged Israel not to enforce the law in its current form, arguing that it is part of broader restrictions that already hinder humanitarian access through limited border hours, dual-use goods bans, and bureaucratic delays.