Oxfam refuses to provide Israel with details of Palestinian staff in Gaza

The UK-founded foundation volition not adhere to Israel’s demand, saying much than 500 assistance workers person been killed successful the war-shattered Strip.

Oxfam says it volition not disclose the idiosyncratic details of its Palestinian unit to Israel, citing its army’s deadly attacks successful Gaza that person killed hundreds of assistance workers.

As portion of a crackdown connected NGOs providing life-saving assistance to Palestinians, Israel past twelvemonth demanded that immoderate of the world’s best-known charities moving successful Gaza, the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem manus implicit elaborate accusation astir their Palestinian and planetary staff, operations and funding.

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On January 1, Israel withdrew the licences of 37 assistance groups, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, saying they failed to adhere to the caller “security and transparency standards”.

But Oxfam has said it volition not stock information astir its Palestinian employees.

“We volition not transportation delicate idiosyncratic information to a enactment to the struggle since this would breach humanitarian principles, work of attraction and information extortion obligations,” an Oxfam spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “More than 500 humanitarian workers person been killed since October 7, 2023.”

“We telephone connected the authorities of Israel to instantly halt deregistration proceedings and assistance measures obstructing humanitarian assistance,” the spokesperson said. “We impulse donor governments to usage each disposable leverage to unafraid the suspension and reversal of these actions.”

According to rules acceptable retired by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs, the accusation to beryllium handed implicit includes passport copies, resumes and names of household members, including children. It said it would cull organisations it suspected of inciting racism, denying the authorities of Israel’s beingness oregon the holocaust. It would besides prohibition those it deems arsenic supporting “an equipped conflict by an force authorities oregon a violent organisation against the State of Israel”.

Israel says 23 organisations person agreed to the caller registration rules. The others are understood to person refused oregon are weighing their decisions.

The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) condemned the organisations that person adhered to Israel’s demands.

“PNGO underscores the sedate risks inherent successful this measure, which constitutes a wide usurpation of the principles of planetary humanitarian instrumentality and established humanitarian enactment standards,” it said, adding that complying with Israel’s bid poses a “direct threat” to the information and information of section staff.

On Saturday, Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said it was prepared to share a “defined database of Palestinian and planetary unit names, taxable to wide parameters with unit information astatine its core” to Israel, portion acknowledging that the demands were “unreasonable”.

MSF’s determination was condemned by immoderate doctors, activists and campaigners, saying it could endanger Palestinians, fixed Israel has targeted assistance workers passim the genocide successful Gaza.

A erstwhile MSF employee, requesting anonymity, told Al Jazeera, “It is highly concerning … that MSF would marque a determination similar this.

“MSF faces profoundly hard decisions – concede to the demands of a genocidal regime, oregon garbage and look implicit expulsion and an abrupt extremity to each wellness activities successful the coming weeks. But what is humanitarianism nether genocide? There indispensable beryllium alternatives – alternatives that request a overmuch bolder and much disruptive attack to humanitarianism amid specified brutal governmental decline.”

According to the International Rescue Committee, which is among the 37 assistance groups and is reportedly weighing the demands, Palestinians marque up astir a 5th of each assistance workers killed since records began.