High Court Upholds New Security Rules for Aid Groups

The High Court of Justice unanimously rejected a petition Wednesday by 19 international aid organizations challenging new Israeli security regulations for foreign NGOs operating in Israel, Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

The petition was filed by AIDA, an umbrella group for international aid organizations, after an inter-ministerial working group under the Diaspora Affairs Ministry introduced the new rules in 2025. The regulations require aid groups to provide detailed information about their operations and employees, including lists of foreign and Palestinian staff, passport details and personal identification numbers.

Thirty-seven organizations refused to comply, arguing that the rules would endanger employees, violate humanitarian neutrality and breach international law. Their licenses were later revoked.

The groups include branches of Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, the Danish and Norwegian Refugee Councils, Caritas Internationalis, the American Friends Service Committee and the International Rescue Committee.

Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz wrote that the regulations serve a “clear security purpose,” citing previous court findings that terrorist groups have tried to take control of humanitarian aid during the Gaza war.

“The existence of a security inspection mechanism is not only legitimate, but constitutes a critical necessity that serves the paramount interest of state security and the protection of human life,” she wrote.

The court gave the organizations whose licenses were revoked 30 days to comply with the screening requirements.

The NGOs had proposed alternatives, including independent sanctions screening and donor-audited vetting systems. The court rejected that approach, ruling that security screening falls within the state’s core sovereign powers and cannot be replaced by self-assessments conducted by aid groups.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli welcomed the ruling, saying it sent a clear message that Israel would not allow terrorist activity to operate under the cover of humanitarian aid.

AIDA’s lawyer, Yotam Ben-Hillel, criticized the ruling as “deeply disappointing” and said it would harm humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza. He said it reflected the limited weight given to international law in Israel’s judicial system.

The affected groups say they provide or support more than half of Gaza’s food assistance, 60% of field hospital operations and all inpatient treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition.

COGAT, the Defense Ministry agency overseeing civilian affairs in Gaza, has said the organizations whose licenses were revoked accounted for less than 1% of total aid entering the Strip. It says the registration process is meant to prevent Hamas from exploiting humanitarian groups to divert aid, use local employees for terrorist purposes or move funds linked to terror organizations.