Israel refuses to grant Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch access to Gaza Strip
After numerous reports of unwarranted civilian deaths and attacks on United Nations designated shelters in the Gaza Strip, Israel is denying Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch entry into the besieged territory.
The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz says the justification for denying these impartial observation groups boils down to "various bureaucratic excuses." Both groups have been trying to obtain access to the Gaza Strip since July 7.
One of these excuses is that the border crossing located at Erez is closed. The Israeli government says that because the crossing is closed, no entry permits of any sort may be granted.
Haaretz reports while this is the official excuse, it appears as if the Erez crossing is actually open. Haaretz cites numerous crossings of journalists, UN employees, and Palestinians with special permits or requiring medical attention since July 7.
The other ostensible reason is that the group does not have the proper registration with the government.
This excuse seems to ring hollow as both groups used to have a number of monitors on the ground in the Gaza Strip. The government claims that because neither group is registered with the Social Affairs Ministry as a humanitarian aid organization, they are not allowed into the strip.
The problem with registering as a foreign aid organization is that both groups do not provide aid. They simply observe the situation on the ground and collect evidence after incidents like bomb explosions and shootings.
The groups used to be granted permission to enter Gaza by the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration, but a policy change "from a higher authority," made it so that the groups would have to register with the Social Affairs Ministry or Foreign Ministry.
When the groups tried to register with the Foreign Ministry, they were told that only UN agencies are allowed to register with the Foreign Ministry, leaving them in a legal limbo as they are each independent.
