Khaberni - Belgian Foreign Minister Maxim Prevot said on Wednesday that humanitarian access is neither optional nor conditioned or political, calling on the Israeli government to remove all restrictions imposed on the delivery of humanitarian aid and to commit to a comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza.
Prevot explained in statements published on the (X) platform that the Israeli government, after obstructing the work of the United Nations, imposed new restrictive requirements that led to the deregistration of international non-governmental organizations, considering that this hinders the delivery of humanitarian aid.
He mentioned that the International Court of Justice confirmed Israel's unconditional obligation, under international humanitarian law, to ensure the unimpeded provision of humanitarian relief to civilian populations.
Prevot confirmed that professional humanitarian entities, such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees "UNRWA" and Belgian-funded international NGOs, adhere to the highest standards of transparency, neutrality, and independence, reiterating his call for Israel to cooperate in good faith with all humanitarian actors, based on clear and non-politicized standards, to maximize the delivery of aid to Palestine.
The Belgian Foreign Minister stressed in the conclusion of his statements the urging of the Israeli government to remove all restrictions that hinder humanitarian access, and to fulfill the comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza.
The Israeli occupation government has started procedures to cancel the licenses of several international relief organizations operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including "Doctors Without Borders", with plans to stop their activities beginning January, under the pretext that they "did not complete their registration procedures as stipulated by the law".
Israel claims that it does not intend to obstruct the transfer of humanitarian aid to the people in the Gaza Strip, and that the humanitarian organizations from which work permits will be withdrawn constitute a small part of the total amount of aid, most of which will continue to be transferred to the sector by other organizations and through their monitoring.
The "Coordinator of Government Activities in the Occupied Territories" unit claims that this Israeli step against humanitarian organizations will not affect the volume of aid, alleging that the targeted organizations had received a warning about stopping their activities and that no aid has entered Gaza since the ceasefire began on October 11 last year.
