The Israeli occupations targeting of International Institutions is a Continuation of the Crime of Genocide by Undermining the Humanitarian Response

The Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) strongly condemns the recent Israeli actions aimed at restricting or suspending the work of international humanitarian organizations operating in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip, at a time when the civilian population is going through an unprecedented humanitarian and health crisis. PNGO believes that this Israeli measure is part of a broader policy aimed at continuing the crime of genocide through the tightening of the suffocating siege and the restrictions on the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip. This is happening amid a humanitarian catastrophe which includes the spread of diseases and epidemics, the extreme cold and rainstorms that are hitting the displaced people hard and the acute shortage of food and medical supplies. These Israeli measures against INGOs are coupled with measures against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA), which include passing a law that prohibits the provision of water and electricity services to its premises and enables the Israeli authorities to confiscate its property. This pattern is further evidenced with the targeting of Palestinian NGOs, as the case of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees which had its premises including its Seed Bank closed during the past weeks.

The network emphasizes that the growing humanitarian needs require increasing and facilitating the level of humanitarian interventions, not creating obstacles to them. PNGO also emphasizes that humanitarian and health work is protected under international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, which oblige the occupying power to facilitate humanitarian access and ensure the unhindered continuity of health and humanitarian services.

Any actions that would disrupt or restrict the work of humanitarian and health institutions will risk:
• Endangering the lives of the sick and wounded.
• It undermines the fundamental right to health.
• It increases the suffering of civilians, especially children, women and the elderly.

The Palestinian NGO Network emphasizes that international institutions and their partner institutions operate in accordance with the principles of neutrality and independence, and calls for the following:
1. Ensure the protection of humanitarian work, humanitarian institutions and their personnel.
2. to take collective action to increase the delivery of humanitarian services.
3. Enabling humanitarian institutions to perform their role without interference or arbitrary restrictions.

The recent actions of the occupying Government have proved that it has not abandoned its systematic efforts to subject the Palestinian society to living conditions intended to destroy it in whole or in part. The Palestinian NGO Network calls on the international community, the United Nations and the concerned authorities to shoulder their legal and moral responsibilities to ensure that health and humanitarian services reach all civilians without exception, to end Israel's system of control over the Palestinian people, and to hold accountable those responsible for these egregious violations of humanitarian law and international humanitarian law.

Palestinian NGO Network