On 20 May 2026, Israel’s High Court rejected a petition filed by AIDA and 19 international humanitarian organisations operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank against new Israeli registration and security-screening requirements. The Court gave organisations 30 days to submit lists of local employees to Israeli authorities or risk ceasing operations. The petitioners warned that these requirements could endanger staff, violate data protection obligations, and further restrict humanitarian operations.
This development follows the February 2026 alert, when dozens of humanitarian organisations faced restrictions on their ability to operate in Gaza and the West Bank under new Israeli regulatory conditions. At that stage, Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily froze the government’s decision pending further review. The latest ruling therefore marks a significant escalation from a temporary freeze to a legal endorsement of the security-screening framework.
The decision poses serious risks to the enabling environment for civil society and humanitarian action in the occupied Palestinian territory. By conditioning continued operations on the transfer of sensitive staff data, the ruling may increase security risks for Palestinian aid workers, reduce humanitarian access, and deter organisations from maintaining or expanding their work. It may also contribute to the politicisation and securitisation of aid, undermining humanitarian principles of independence, neutrality, and impartiality.
The impact may also extend to Palestinian civil society organisations. As highlighted in PNGO’s factsheet, the closure or restriction of INGOs could weaken local response systems, particularly as many local organisations rely on project-based partnerships with international organisations. This could disrupt supply chains, reduce technical support, weaken emergency response capacities, and erode community trust.
These risks are especially concerning given the continuing humanitarian needs in Gaza, limited aid entry, widespread infrastructure destruction, and the absence of effective mechanisms to ensure needs-based response despite the ceasefire. In the West Bank, the ruling comes amid escalating Israeli restrictions, settler violence, and the Palestinian Authority’s severe financial crisis, further limiting civil society’s ability to reach affected communities.