UN warns Palestinian children 'defenceless' amid Israeli crackdown on NGOs

UN warns Palestinian children 'defenceless' amid Israeli crackdown on NGOs Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 06/23/2026 - 19:42 UN says Israeli measures have made it nearly impossible for rights groups to ensure the safety of children and families seeking critical assistance Palestinians look at Israeli soldiers patrolling the market in the Old City of Nablus in the Israeli occupied West Bank on 23 June 2026 (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP) Off Palestinian children are "increasingly unprotected", as Israel forces human rights organisations to cease or curtail work across the occupied Palestinian territories, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child warned on Monday. The committee condemned Israel's designation of civil society groups as "terrorists". Labelling NGOs as terrorist entities gives Israel legal cover to obstruct humanitarian work, including military raids, travel bans, personal financial sanctions, threats of arrest, destruction of records and, in some cases, "threats of secondary sanctions against partners".