Humanitarian organisations petition Israeli High Court as aid closure deadline approaches by Thirty-seven international aid organisations   25 Feb. 2026   Thirty-seven international aid organisations have been ordered by Israeli authorities to cease operations in the occupied Palestinian territory by the end of February under revised Israeli registration rules. With efforts to force closures imminent, a group of leading humanitarian organisations have taken the unprecedented step of jointly petitioning the Israeli High Court to suspend the measures before irreparable harm is done to civilians who rely on their assistance.   On 30 December 2025, the affected organisations were formally notified that their Israeli registrations would expire the following day and that they would have 60 days to wind down activities in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The notification letter stated that the decision could only be overturned if organisations completed the full registration process, with which they cannot legally or ethically comply.   Efforts to force closures could begin as early as 28 February 2026. The effect would be immediate, extending well beyond individual organisations to the wider humanitarian system. In Gaza, families remain dependent on external assistance amid continuing restrictions on aid entry and renewed strikes in densely populated areas. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, military incursions, demolitions, displacement, settlement expansion and settler violence are driving rising humanitarian needs.   Palestinian Authority registration provides the lawful basis for international NGOs to operate in Palestinian territory. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power must facilitate relief for civilians under its control. Conditioning humanitarian presence on sweeping administrative demands, including the transfer of comprehensive national staff lists, alongside vague and politicised grounds for denial, risks disrupting life-saving services and eroding the obligation to ensure civilian welfare under occupation.   The demand to transfer personal data raises acute security and legal risks. It exposes national staff to potential retaliation and undermines established data protection and confidentiality safeguards. For European organisations in particular, compliance would create serious legal and contractual liabilities. More broadly, such requirements set a precedent that could chill principled humanitarian engagement in highly politicised contexts.   International NGOs have proposed practical alternatives, including independent sanctions screening and donor-audited vetting systems, that preserve both compliance and staff protection without disclosing personal data. No substantive response has been provided. Enforcement has meanwhile begun in practice, including blocked supplies and denial of visas and access for foreign staff.   Alongside UN agencies and Palestinian partners, international NGOs support or implement the delivery of more than half of all food assistance in Gaza, 60 per cent of field hospitals’ operations, nearly three quarters of shelter and non-food item activities, all inpatient treatment for children suffering severe acute malnutrition and 30 per cent of emergency education services, in addition to funding over half of explosive hazard clearance.   The petition seeks an urgent Interim Injunction to suspend expiry of registrations and prevent further enforcement pending judicial review. The petitioning organisations contend that these administrative measures constitute an effort to curtail established humanitarian operations in a manner incompatible with the obligations of an occupying power under international humanitarian law.   Governments must act urgently to prevent implementation of these measures and to ensure that humanitarian relief remains principled, independent, and unhindered. If these measures take effect, aid will be impeded not because needs have eased, but because it has been rendered optional, conditional, or politicised. At a moment when civilians depend on assistance to survive, that outcome would carry immediate and irreversible human consequences.   http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/humanitarian-organisations-petition-israeli-high-court-closure-deadline-approaches http://www.hi-us.org/en/humanitarian-organizations-petition-israeli-high-court-as-closure-deadline-approaches http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/humanitarian-organisations-petition-israeli-high-court-as-closure-deadline-approaches http://interagencystandingcommittee.org/inter-agency-standing-committee/inter-agency-standing-committee-iasc-statement-revoke-planned-international-ngo-ban-humanitarian http://www.ochaopt.org/content/un-agencies-and-ngos-call-immediate-lifting-impediments-humanitarian-access-and-ngo-operations-occupied http://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response http://www.msf.org/msfs-vital-humanitarian-activities-gaza-risk-israeli-registration-rules http://www.savethechildren.net/news/save-children-calls-urgent-review-new-israeli-registration-rules-affecting-gaza-west-bank http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigations/2026/02/11/compliant-aid-who-are-israel-approved-ngos-scaling-gaza http://www.interaction.org/statement/interaction-raises-alarm-over-israels-planned-suspension-of-ngos-in-gaza/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/12/outrageous-suspension-numerous-aid-agencies-gaza http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-142/en/ Visit the related web page
	Brazilian politician brothers convicted of ordering murder of Rio city councillor by Tiago Rogero for Guardain News   25 Feb. 2026   Brazilian politician brothers convicted of ordering murder of Rio city councillor, by Tiago Rogero for Guardain News.   Two influential Brazilian politician brothers have been convicted by Brazil’s supreme court of ordering the murder of Marielle Franco, the Rio de Janeiro city councillor, nearly eight years ago.   Joao Francisco Inácio Brazao, the former congressman known as Chiquinho, and the former adviser to Rio’s court of auditors Domingos Inácio Brazão were sentenced to 76 years and three months in prison for the murders of Franco, 38, and her driver, Anderson Gomes, 39.   The crime was one of the most shocking and high-profile murders in Rio’s history and drew international attention: Franco, a gay Black woman, was a rising political star and an outspoken critic of police violence and corruption.   The justices’ decision was unanimous, and the Brazão brothers were also convicted of the attempted murder of Fernanda Chaves, Franco’s press officer at the time, who was in the car and survived.   The case is also widely seen by security experts and human rights activists as a chilling example of how the ties between politics, crime and the police are deeply entrenched in Rio, reaching even the highest levels of public administration.   Franco’s sister, Anielle Franco, wrote on social media: “It was eight years of struggle to find out who ordered Marielle’s killing and why. It was eight years fighting for full justic   “Today Brazil’s justice system honoured the memory of Marielle and Anderson. Brazil begins a new historic chapter in confronting political violence based on gender and race. Impunity cannot be part of our democracy,” added Anielle, who is minister for racial equality in the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.   Announcing her vote, Justice Carmen Lucia said the proceedings had been “very painful” for her.   “Human justice is not capable of soothing this pain. This trial is merely a timid, almost embarrassed testimony on my part of the response the law can offer in the face of the searing, atrocious pain borne on the faces of the mother, the daughter, the son, the widows,” added Lucia, referring to the relatives of Franco and Gomes, who were present in the courtroom.   The long journey of almost a decade to secure the convictions was marked by a tortuous series of twists that included the destruction of evidence, frequent changes in lead investigators and even the revelation that the then head of the homicide division, Rivaldo Barbosa, actively worked to obstruct the investigation.   Barbosa was not convicted of murder on Wednesday, as the justices found there was insufficient evidence that he had taken part in the killings, but he was found guilty on the lesser charges of obstruction of justice and corruption for having received bribes from the Brazao brothers.   The case was tried by the supreme court because Chiquinho was a congressman when his involvement was uncovered. The convictions came more than a year after two former police officers who carried out the killings were sentenced by a court in Rio.   Ronnie Lessa, who fired the shots in the drive-by shooting, and Élcio de Queiroz, who drove the getaway car, were sentenced in October 2024 to decades in prison, but their sentences were reduced to a maximum of 30 years after they confessed and cooperated with investigators.   Lessa, regarded as one of Rio’s most ruthless hitmen, said he had been hired by the Brazão brothers – long accused of involvement with paramilitary mafia groups known as militias – to kill Franco after becoming frustrated by her efforts to disrupt lucrative housing development schemes.   “Marielle Franco became a highly significant obstacle to the economic and political interests of those who ordered the crime,” said the rapporteur, Justice Alexandre de Moraes.   One of the most profitable activities of the militia led by the Brazao brothers was the illegal occupation of land – much of it in environmentally protected areas – followed by property development and the provision of services such as electricity and internet.   Franco, who at the time served alongside Chiquinho on Rio’s city council, was a vocal advocate for housing rights and frequently warned residents not to join new illegal projects created by the militia.   “Marielle Franco was a Black, poor woman who was confronting the interests of militiamen,” said Moraes. “What stronger message could they send? In the misogynistic, prejudiced minds of those who ordered and carried out the killing, who would care about this (her murder)?”   The Brazao brothers’ lawyers focused their defence on attempting to discredit Lessa’s confession, arguing that there was no other evidence of their involvement in the crimes. However, all the justices agreed that, beyond the testimony, there was “abundant evidence” to support their convictions.   Two former police officers were also convicted: Ronald Paulo de Alves Pereira, for monitoring Franco’s routine in the days leading up to the crime; and Robson Calixto Fonseca, known as The Fish, who will answer only for armed criminal organisation for having delivered the murder weapon to Lessa.   Jurema Werneck, executive director of Amnesty International in Brazil, said the convictions were “a fundamental milestone, a chance to turn the page in the history of Rio and Brazil”.   “First, because it affirms the need to protect human rights defenders. Fighting for rights cannot cost lives … Second, this decision also marks a turning point in the fight against impunity, so that crimes like this are not repeated,” she said.   http://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/25/brazil-politician-brothers-convicted-murder http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/justice-brazilian-human-defender-killing http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/drc-un-experts-warn-extreme-m23-violence-targeting-human-rights-defenders
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