Israel Moves to Bar UK Charities After Sanctions — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Israel's Ministry for Diaspora Affairs issued a September 8 letter recommending border authorities bar employees and activists from UK charities including Oxfam, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Save the Children, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), and the Norwegian Refugee Council, plus campaign groups including Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Friends of Al-Aqsa, and Palestine Action.
- Israel had warned the UK of 'consequences' for the settlement trade ban, then barred 11 British MPs and a lawyer from entry, ordered the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, removed UK representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, and ended UK training of Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank.
- Save the Children was accused in the letter of describing Israel's actions as 'deliberate starvation' and 'genocide'; a spokesperson said the organization is already unable to secure visas for staff crossing Israeli-controlled borders into Gaza or the West Bank, 'at a time when needs have never been greater.'
- Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said two individuals named in the Israeli letter had received humanitarian medals awarded by King Charles, framing the document as part of wider Israeli restrictions on international charities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
- Palestine Action cofounder Huda Ammori told Al Jazeera the letter proves the group was proscribed not over 'terrorism' but because its activity was 'always focused on damaging the Israeli defence industry,' referencing raids on weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.
- UK Lawyers for Israel separately called on the government to proscribe Doctors Without Borders (MSF) as a terrorist organisation; MSF said Israeli authorities only reported staff 'ties to terrorism' after those workers had been killed and never shared evidence of military involvement beforehand.
Why it matters: A single UK policy action — the West Bank settlement trade ban — has triggered bans on 11 British MPs, the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem, and now a sweeping Israeli blacklist of UK humanitarian organizations. For groups like Save the Children already blocked from getting staff visas into Gaza, this formalizes a de facto aid barrier into codified state policy, directly worsening humanitarian access at a moment when the article notes 'needs have never been greater.'
Ask SkimNews
