Cuffe criticises Israel for banning healthcare organisations and aid charities from Gaza

Former Green MEP Ciáran Cuffe has criticised the Israeli government for banning healthcare organisations and aid charities from Gaza.

In the final week of 2025, it was announced that organisations and NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International were banned from accessing Gaza by the Israel government, and the move has been criticised by the European Greens.

On 30 December, the Israeli authorities notified 37 international NGOs that their registrations would expire on 31 December 2025, giving them two months to vacate Gaza and cease operations in the war-torn region.

The Israeli government claimed that the organisations failed to meet new “security and transparency standards”, particularly the requirement to provide full and verifiable information about their Palestinian staff.

Organisations such as Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and World Vision have warned that these demands “undermine” neutrality principles associcated with international aid, as well as violating their operational independence.

Cuffe, former Green MEP for Dublin and now co-chair of the European Greens, said “the need for shelter, food and healthcare in the Occupied Palestinian Territories remains extreme.”

“The Israeli demands are a cynical and calculated attempt to prevent humanitarian organisations from providing services in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Facilitating humanitarian aid is not a decision to be taken on political grounds. It is an obligation under international law. Unless changes are made, the cost to Palestinians will be unthinkable.”

Vula Tsetsi, Co-Chair of the European Green Party, said “as if the Israeli genocide in Gaza had not already inflicted unbearable suffering, the Netanyahu government is now actively obstructing humanitarian organisations that were providing essential support to Palestinians in the occupied territories.”

She said the move by the Israeli government constitutes a “grave violation” of international humanitarian law.

“We call on the European Commission to publicly and unequivocally condemn Israel’s measures, and to enforce the human rights and democratic clauses of the EU-Israel Association Agreement without which that agreement should be suspended. We expect the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council to urgently discuss this matter, including the clear contradiction with the Association Agreement’s stipulations.”