International NGOs race to stop Israeli shutdown order

More than a dozen international humanitarian organisations have petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to block an imminent order that would force 37 NGOs to cease operations in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, warning of “catastrophic” consequences for civilians.

- 

Palestinian woman carries water through waste puddles along a sandy path in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip.

(AP)

NGOs including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE, were notified on December 30, 2025 that their Israeli registrations had expired and that they had 60 days to renew them by providing lists of their Palestinian staff.

The petition, filed by 17 organisations, including some of the NGOs hit by the ban, seeks from Israel's top court an urgent interim injunction to suspend the closures pending full judicial review.

Hamas on Tuesday called for sanctions against Israel, welcoming a joint condemnation by nearly 20 countries of new Israeli measures aimed at tightening control over the occupied West Bank.

Israel has approved a series of initiatives this month backed by far-right ministers, including launching a process to register land in the West Bank as “state property” and allowing Israelis to purchase land there directly.

Late on Monday, 18 countries including regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and European powers France and Spain, slammed Israel over the recent moves.