Israeli court freezes ban on foreign NGOsPOSITIVE STEP: The NGOs welcomed the ruling, but said details regarding getting supplies and foreign staff inside, as well as the effect on operations, remained unclearAFP, JERUSALEMIsrael’s Supreme Court in a ruling published on Friday said it would freeze a government ban on 37 foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank pending a final decision. The NGOs petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court via an umbrella organization, AIDA, after their charity registration in Israel was revoked at the end of a year-long battle during which the NGOs had refused to provide lists of their Palestinian employees to Israeli authorities. The court said there existed a “genuine legal dispute” due to the foreign NGOs’ responsibilities to their employees’ privacy under European law. MSF project coordinator Craig Kenzie said the organization’s 28 remaining foreign staff left the Palestinian territory on Thursday and would not be able to return unless the ban was reversed. “It’s a positive step, but it’s very light on the details, so it’s not clear what that results in in terms of getting supplies and foreign staff inside,” he said.

Source: Taipei Times February 28, 2026 18:01 UTC