Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli on Tuesday accused EU foreign ministers of “defending terror-supporting organizations.”
His words followed a joint statement by 27 foreign ministers on August 12 in which they condemned “restrictive new registration requirements” that “force essential international NGOs to leave the OPT [occupied Palestinian territories] imminently.”
They called on Israel to provide authorization for all international NGO aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating. This is related to an earlier statement by 100 international NGOs that claimed their registrations for work in Palestinian regions were being denied.
“Israel promotes genuine humanitarian activity, but will not allow hostile actors and terror-supporting organizations to operate in its territory and in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza under a humanitarian guise,” Chikli said in response.
“Sadly, much of the activity of so-called humanitarian organizations serves as a cover for hostile and sometimes violent actions, including trespassing, the harassment and assault of Israeli residents, the harassment of soldiers, and activities linked to the BDS movement to promote boycotts against Israel,” he continued.
EU foreign ministers' statement 'another way to prevent defending Israeli citizens,' Chikli says
Chikli called the statement “a smokescreen and yet another attempt to pressure the State of Israel in order to prevent it from defending its sovereignty and its citizens under the pretense of humanitarianism.”
He also defended the measures Israel has put in place to prevent hostile agents from operating in its territory, even if that affects humanitarian activity.
“Europe expects Israel to allow activity that undermines its sovereignty, while it is clear that these European states themselves would never permit external actors to operate similarly within their own borders,” he added.
Under Government Resolution 2542 of December 2024, NGOs involved in terrorism, antisemitism, the delegitimization of Israel, Holocaust denial, and the denial of the atrocities of October 7 can be prohibited from operating. The procedure is called International Non-Governmental Organizations Primarily Engaged in Activities with Palestinian Residents for the Purpose of Humanitarian Aid, and was introduced in March 2025.
Among the NGOs that have had their permits revoked are Rahma Worldwide Aid and Development, Catholic Relief Services, and Direct Aid to Gaza.
According to Chikli, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) is in the process of designating Rahma a terrorist consortium due to its reported ties to the Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage, which is defined in both Israel and the US as a terrorist organization.
He added that Catholic Relief Services has ties to the designated terrorist organization Islamic Relief Worldwide, and that Direct Aid to Gaza uses social media to “outright deny Israel’s right to exist.”
Chikli assured organizations with “no connection to hostile activity, violence, or ties to the boycott movement” that their applications will be approved. He said that, as of August 2025, only 10 of the 100 registration requests from foreign organizations and workers have been denied.
The group of 100 international NGOs, however, disputed this, saying 60 requests were denied in July alone. In a joint statement, the organizations accused Israel of using “vague and politicized criteria, such as alleged ‘delegitimization’ of Israel” to deny registrations.
The statement added that international NGOs are forced to submit details regarding private donors, complete Palestinian staff lists, and provide other sensitive information “for so-called security vetting.”
They called this “unlawful” and “incompatible with humanitarian principles.” The group also insinuated that providing Palestinian staff lists would endanger aid workers and “advance Israel’s military and political aims.”
In an added layer concerning this issue, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday that around 80 of the signatory organizations never even applied to be registered as authorized humanitarian organizations. Of the 21 organizations that did apply and are listed in the declaration, so far, only three have been rejected, the ministry said. All the rest were either already approved or are still being processed.
The Jerusalem Post went through the registration form for NGOs. The application does require NGOS to provide details of the organization’s representative in Israel, as well as a list of all employees involved in the management and actual implementation of the work plan, including Palestinian employees. The list must include full names, passport numbers (for foreign employees), identification numbers (for Palestinian employees), and contact details.
The application also contains a section that clearly lays out the grounds for possible denial of an application.
Reasons for rejection include if the organization denies the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; if the organization supports an armed struggle by an enemy state or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel; if the declared purpose and/or actual activities of the organization serve as a cover for illegal activities under the laws of Israel or Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
Other disqualifying criteria pertain to if the organization has, in writing or orally, published statements denying the Holocaust, as defined in the Denial of Holocaust (Prohibition) Law, 5746-1986; and if the organization has, in writing or orally, published statements denying the October 7, 2023, massacre, among others.
Organizations or foreign employees have the opportunity to submit written statements if there is a reasonable basis to assume their registration will be revoked or rejected.