Geneva - Israel's decision to exclude the UK from the International Gaza Support Center (IGSC) in Kiryat Gat, formerly known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), once again highlights that the centre, similar to all other initiatives derived from Trump's Gaza plan, is not autonomous from Israel's occupation system or political interests.
Israel, which has effective control over aid access in Gaza, also manages which parties participate in coordination, treating membership in the centre as a privilege that it grants or revokes based on countries' stances on its policies.
The US-led centre, involving representatives from around 50 countries and an international organisation, was created to oversee the ceasefire, coordinate aid delivery, and set up post-war arrangements in the Gaza Strip. However, Israel barred Spain's representatives from participating in April and then barred the Netherlands' representatives in August. Both actions were reportedly linked to the respective governments' stances towards Israel and its policies, especially the Netherlands' decision to ban imports of settlement products.
Israel leverages its control over humanitarian aid coordination, which is an international legal obligation meant to assist civilians, to blackmail, punish, and isolate states
This sequence of events shows that Israel leverages its control over humanitarian aid coordination, which is an international legal obligation meant to assist civilians based on need and without political strings, to blackmail, punish, and isolate states. It makes aid participation dependent on governments' adherence to Israeli policies, transforming what should be a system for fulfilling legal responsibilities into a means of oppressing the Palestinian people and undermining their fundamental rights to life, food, water, health, and dignity.
As the occupying power, Israel is obligated under Articles 55, 56, and 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to provide food, medicine, and other essential supplies to the population; maintain health services; approve relief efforts; and facilitate them through all available means. The establishment of the IGSC does not relieve Israel of these duties nor shift them to the participating states, in accordance with Article 60 of the Convention.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed in its advisory opinion on 22 October 2025 that Israel must approve relief schemes carried out by the United Nations and its agencies, including UNRWA, and support their implementation without hindrance. Security concerns do not justify arbitrary, unnecessary, or disproportionate restrictions, nor should they delay or obstruct aid delivery or politicise the entities responsible for coordinating it.
The decision against the UK came as part of a set of retaliatory actions by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, following the UK's, France's, and Canada's ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. These measures involved closing the British consulate in East Jerusalem, halting British training programmes for Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank, and prohibiting 12 elected British officials and other British citizens from entering Israel.
This repeated cycle of retaliations undermines international efforts to coordinate around Gaza and shows that the agreements associated with Trump's plan function within Israel's control system. They offer no independent assurance of aid delivery, civilian safety, or violation oversight, nor do they limit Israel's capacity to carry on with acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
This strategy extends beyond the centre in Kiryat Gat. It is part of a larger effort to dismantle the independent relief system in the occupied Palestinian territory, bringing it under Israeli control. Israeli authorities have barred UNRWA staff from entering the territory, limited the agency's activities and access to facilities and large areas, and instructed 37 international NGOs to cease operations in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Additionally, they have prevented some international staff from these organisations from entering the area.
These actions, along with the politicisation of the IGSC, show that Israel is not just regulating humanitarian efforts but actively restructuring them to suit its needs. Access to the population and humanitarian activities now depend on compliance with its unilateral political and security directives, excluding organisations that remain independent or oppose its policies. Consequently, independent international institutions are being dismantled and replaced by structures authorised by Israel, which oversees their membership, operations, and information dissemination.
Allowing Israel to decide the centre's role jeopardises more than just aid coordination; it risks shaping post-war arrangements in Gaza. If Israel can select participating states and exclude those opposing its occupation, the centre might become a means for influencing Gaza's future governance, security, and reconstruction, without the Palestinian people's consent.
Linking relief coordination to political motives can lead to individual criminal responsibility, especially if it involves intentionally depriving civilians of essentials like food, medicine, water, and fuel. Such actions, when used as a tactic of starvation in warfare and aimed at destroying Palestinians in whole or in part by creating deadly living conditions, qualify as acts of genocide.
All states, based on their actual influence, should promptly act, individually and collectively, to pressure Israel into halting the genocide in the Gaza Strip. This includes stopping all related acts such as killing Palestinians, causing serious physical or mental harm, deliberately creating conditions aimed at their physical destruction, and measures like preventing births and forcibly transferring children. Israel must cease starvation, forced displacement, systematic destruction, and other crimes associated with genocide.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor urges the immediate and complete lifting of Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, as well as the permanent opening of all crossings to facilitate the swift and unrestricted flow of aid, goods, fuel, medicines, and reconstruction supplies, ensuring they are delivered promptly and in adequate quantities without arbitrary restrictions or political conditions.
Furthermore, coordination should remain within the existing United Nations system, primarily involving UNRWA and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Their operational independence must be protected, instead of creating alternative structures that could be subject to Israeli control.
All states must fulfil their obligation to respect and adhere to the Geneva Conventions, while also preventing genocide and taking all necessary legal, political, and economic actions to stop such crimes. They cannot justify delaying action by claiming a final judgment on genocide is pending, as the duty to prevent arises once a state is aware, or should be aware, of a significant risk of the crime occurring. The required measures depend on the state's actual capacity to influence the situation.
Furthermore, states should collaborate to end Israel's illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory. They should avoid recognising it or offering support that prolongs the occupation. Additionally, they need to reassess their relations with Israel to prevent the transfer of weapons, funds, technology, intelligence, or logistical support that could facilitate the occupation, genocide, or other crimes against Palestinians.
Comprehensive and coordinated sanctions against Israel are crucial, moving beyond symbolic or selective actions. These should include a total ban on transferring weapons, ammunition, technology, equipment, and military and security services. Euro-Med Monitor urges ending cooperation, training, and the exchange of military and security information; suspending trade, financial, and investment relations and agreements; and applying diplomatic, economic, and financial sanctions on the government, military, entities, and individuals involved. At the same time, it is essential to ensure that these measures do not disrupt the basic needs or humanitarian aid of the Palestinian people.
The time has come to end the political, military, and economic support that has allowed Israel to perpetuate genocide, maintain the blockade, and obstruct aid.
The international community must stop violations, prevent future occurrences, and address harm to victims. It must also bring perpetrators before the International Criminal Court and national courts. Additionally, states should seek individuals accused of serious breaches of the Geneva Conventions, prosecute or extradite them, activate universal jurisdiction, and ensure they have nowhere safe to hide.
