The appeal came after the Israeli regime cancelled the registrations of dozens of international organizations and ordered them to halt operations by March, citing their refusal to submit employee lists and comply with new security registration procedures.
Ramzi Khoury, head of the Palestinian Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs, described the move as a “highly dangerous development.”
“It touches the core of human values and the Church's mission, and reflects a systematic targeting of international non-governmental organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem,” he said in a message to churches worldwide, as cited by the official news agency Wafa.
In a related development, Khoury warned that the measures go beyond administrative restrictions.
“What is happening today in Gaza is no longer merely a restriction on humanitarian work, but a systematic attempt to criminalize relief itself and paralyze the institutions that make the bare minimum of life possible in the face of siege, war and total collapse.”
Meanwhile, he said silence in the face of the Israeli regime’s criminal actions amounted to complicity.
“It is interpreted as moral abandonment. Preventing humanitarian work and criminalizing relief, at a time of a documented need for hundreds of aid trucks daily, constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and a stark contradiction of Christian teachings that place the human being and human dignity at the heart of the mission.”
Separately, Khoury appealed to churches worldwide “to declare a clear ecclesiastical position rejecting the targeting and banning of international nongovernmental organizations, to exert moral and international pressure to open crossings and ensure the entry of aid in quantities required on humanitarian grounds, and to stand with Gaza, not with words alone, but with positions that translate faith into action.”
Palestinian and international groups have warned that revoking the licenses will further worsen civilian suffering in Gaza, where the Israeli regime has been waging a brutal war since October 2023.
The Israeli army has killed more than 71,400 people and injured over 171,000 others in the assault, which has left the enclave in ruins.
The United Nations has estimated reconstruction costs at roughly $70 billion.
Meanwhile, the Israeli regime has restricted the entry of food, medicine, medical supplies and shelter materials into Gaza.
About 1.5 million people are displaced in the enclave out of a population of roughly 2.4 million, which has lived under blockade for more than 18 years.
The restrictions violate a ceasefire agreement that took effect last October.