Israel said on Sunday, February 1, that it was terminating the humanitarian operations of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gaza after the international medical charity failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.
In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the UN.
“The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism is moving to terminate the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said on Sunday. The decision follows “MSF’s failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organizations operating in the region,” it added.
In a statement on Friday, MSF acknowledged that it had, as an “exceptional measure,” agreed to share a list of names of its Palestinian and international staff with the Israeli authorities. “However, despite repeated efforts, it became evident that we were unable to build engagement with Israeli authorities on the concrete assurances required,” it said. “These included that any staff information would be used only for its stated administrative purpose and would not put colleagues at risk.”
Doctors With One Border
Another thing to add to Israel’s rap sheet