Aid workers face expulsion from Gaza. They hope EU privacy laws can save them.
politico.eu • • world
Key Points:
- Humanitarian organizations in Gaza face a deadline to comply with new Israeli rules requiring detailed data on staff and donors, including Palestinian employees, or risk being banned from operating in Gaza and the West Bank.
- Around 37 NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, argue that the data-sharing demands violate European data protection laws such as the GDPR and have filed a petition with Israel’s High Court to suspend the measures.
- European data protection authorities and the European Commission have criticized Israel’s rules, warning they could endanger aid workers’ safety and obstruct life-saving humanitarian access in Palestinian territories.
- Aid groups express concern that sharing sensitive data could lead to surveillance and targeting of staff by Israeli forces, while withdrawal of NGOs would severely impact humanitarian support for
