The Israeli High Court’s Decision on Diakonia’s Registration

After decades of humanitarian work in the Israeli-Palestinian context, the Swedish development organisation Diakonia – of which the IHL Centre forms part – lost its registration with the Israeli authorities following the introduction of restrictive and widely criticised guidelines for the registration of international NGOs in 2025.

On 31 August 2026, in a unanimous ruling, Israel’s Supreme Court sitting as High Court of Justice denied Diakonia’s petition challenging the decision of the responsible Inter-Ministerial Team.

This publication addresses serious concerns raised by the judgment, notably a deeply flawed approach to international law and the justification of escalating measures targeting civil society ostensibly in the name of ‘defensive democracy’.

Despite this unfortunate development, the IHL Centre remains determined to continue its work to promote respect for international law in the Israeli-Palestinian context. For details, see the IHL Centre’s statement.

Photo Credits: Israeli Supreme Court by Scott Gun, 2014. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.