Quaker org will continue Gaza work despite Israel’s threat to ban INGOs

Interfaith vigil for Gaza in Chicago, August 2024 @loveandstrugglephotos

PHILADELPHIA (January 20, 2026) - On January 1, Israel's new and prohibitively restrictive registration procedures for international organizations went into effect. Organizations can be denied registration if the organization or anyone affiliated with it has spoken out against the actions of the Israeli government. According to a list obtained by news outlets, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is among 37 international organizations being "deregistered" by the Israeli government. Israel has mandated that these organizations halt operations and remove international staff from the occupied Palestine territory within 60 days. This move formalizes a longstanding obstruction of aid, effectively banning INGOs from bringing international personnel or assistance into Gaza. Despite these obstacles, AFSC will continue to work in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territory.

"The new rules Israel has imposed on international organizations are part of a long and increasingly drastic effort to restrict access to the occupied Palestinian territory for humanitarian workers, human rights advocates, journalists, and anyone who speaks out against genocide, occupation, apartheid, and other gross violations of international law," said Kerri Kennedy, AFSC's Associate General Secretary for International Programs. "Israel has no legal authority to cut off one of the last lifelines to Palestinians in Gaza. They may be able to stop international staff and aid trucks at the border, but they cannot stop our solidarity and support for the Palestinian people."

Because Israel controls all access in and out of Gaza, international staff from these deregistered organizations will be barred from entry. AFSC remains registered through the Palestinian Authority to work in the occupied Palestinian territory and plans to continue to provide lifesaving aid through their Palestinian team and partners who are already on the ground in Gaza. AFSC's localized operating model and the strength of established partners will enable this work to continue.

Israel is one of the only countries in the world that bans international NGOs based on their political speech. AFSC operates in many countries where there are significant restrictions on civil society, including South Sudan, Sudan and Zimbabwe; in none of those locations are the registration requirements so extreme in restricting INGOs, blocking access to humanitarian aid, and adhering to international law as they are in Israel.

In a statement released in early January, AFSC writes: "The registration process compromises humanitarian principles, independence, and civic space. It also imposes prohibitively difficult reporting requirements and requires organizations to submit complete staff lists and other sensitive information about staff and their families to the Israeli government. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel's occupation in the Palestinian territory is unlawful. Disclosing operational information to a government credibly accused of genocide and apartheid endangers the lives of our staff and partners."

AFSC began working in Gaza in 1948 when the United Nations requested that they organize relief efforts for Palestinian refugees who had been expelled from their land by Israel. In the decades that followed, AFSC programs have provided agricultural development, kindergartens, midwife training, humanitarian aid, and trauma healing. Over the last two years, AFSC staff in Gaza have provided hot meals, food parcels, fresh vegetables, hygiene kits, and other essential supplies to over one million people impacted by Israel's genocide.

"As a Quaker organization, we oppose violence in all its forms and work to address its root causes," said Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary for AFSC. "That means providing humanitarian aid to those who are being bombed and starved. It also means advocating for an end to genocide, occupation and apartheid and working for freedom, equality, and justice for all people - in Palestine and around the world."

###

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.