02/03/2026 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Joseph O’Reilly (Ireland, EPP/CD), PACE General Rapporteur on the situation of women and children in the Palestinian territories, made the following statement today:
“The decision by the Israeli government to ban 37 reliable international NGOs – including Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières – from operating in Gaza and the West Bank as of 1 March 2026 is deeply alarming. Together with other NGOs and UN agencies, these organisations have delivered life-saving humanitarian assistance in extraordinary circumstances, often at immense personal risk.
The new registration requirements, forcing NGOs to submit personal data of their staff, violate fundamental principles of humanitarian neutrality, independence and data protection. They also obstruct the urgent aid needed by millions of Palestinians, women and children, living amid the consequences of armed conflict, blockade and widespread destruction as over 80% of Gaza’s infrastructure lies in ruins. Such measures undermine international humanitarian law and risk deepening the already critical humanitarian crisis.
Recalling the Assembly’s recent resolution, I strongly urge the Israeli authorities to immediately comply with the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily suspend the ban, and definitively lift the restrictions imposed on NGOs. Israel must uphold its obligations to ensure unhindered humanitarian access, in line with international legal standards, including the Geneva Conventions, and the fundamental right to protection and dignity for all civilians.”