Israel no longer renews visas for foreign aid workers in the West Bank

The work of foreign humanitarians is becoming more complicated in the occupied West Bank, as Israel has stopped issuing visas since October 7. Two thirds of them already no longer have a visa. Some choose to remain in the country illegally to continue working.

Since October 7, the Israeli government has stopped issuing visas for foreign NGO staff working in the occupied West Bank. Result: in almost five months, two thirds of foreign humanitarian workers no longer have a visa. They must leave or remain in the country illegally to carry out their work. The rest of the employees have visas about to expire in the coming weeks or months. An extremely complicated situation at a time when humanitarian support is more necessary than ever in the region after almost five months of conflict.

The visa of this humanitarian worker, who prefers to remain anonymous, expired at the end of 2023. Like the entire profession, and thanks to a procedure put in place at the start of the war by Israel, it had an automatic extension until the 8 FEBRUARY. But since then, nothing more. “And since then, I have been in a complicated, illegal situation, which affects my presence in the territory and my operational capabilities for my work.”

“I can no longer move freely in the West Bank, I can’t go to Jerusalem, I can no longer cross checkpoints.”

A humanitarian

at franceinfo

Like him, there are nearly a hundred without renewed visas. They all work for humanitarian organizations that help the Palestinian population. “We have cases where the positions of NGO country directors or other senior managers have not been reneweddeplores Firas Arouri, the coordinator of AIDA, the Association of International Development Agencies in Ramallah. And sometimes we’re talking about small organizations that can’t afford to lose their key employees, especially right now. We see this measure as intrinsic to the generalized access restrictions for NGOs, whether in the West Bank or Gaza. Because expatriates from other sectors have had their visas extended, it is therefore that the humanitarian sector is targeted and that it is a political decision.”

UN humanitarians also concerned

The diplomatic authorities were all alerted, specifies Firas Arouri, before calling for action and a position on the part of the international community. Israeli authorities tell international NGOs that this comes from a reorganization of the visa process, and that services have been overwhelmed since October 7. But this time, the automatic renewal did not happen. And if Israel does not resume issuing visas, all foreign aid workers will have to leave by early fall, when the last visas issued in 2023 will expire.

UN aid workers are also affected by these visa restrictions, with staff only having short-term access to Israel and Gaza. When contacted, the Israeli Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.