RAMALLAH Jan. 26 (JMCC) - Last week saw the latest move in the Israeli government's clampdown on those working in solidarity with the Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories. Ending a decades-old policy of granting work visas to employees of NGOs operating in the region, Israeli officials are now issuing NGO workers with tourist visas instead, prohibiting them from working in areas under Israeli jurisdiction, including Area C (which makes up 60 percent of the West Bank) and all of East Jerusalem.

There are around 150 NGOs currently working with the Palestinian population, and all but those 12 registered prior to Israel's occupation of the West Bank will be affected by the new policy, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières. The restriction on the movement of the hundreds of NGO employees sends yet another message from the Israeli government that they have no qualms about imposing further hardships on the already-beleaguered Palestinian people, regardless of how many previous accords are trampled upon and past agreements rescinded in the process...

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