Israeli Government Documents Show Deliberate Policy to Restrict Food to Gaza

Saturday 06 November 2010

by: Saed Bannoura | International Middle East Media Center | Report

Israeli Government Documents Show Deliberate Policy to Restrict Food to Gaza
(Photo: Razan Ghazzawi / Flickr)

Documents, whose existence were denied by the Israeli government for over a year, have been released after a legal battle led by Israeli human rights group, Gisha. The documents reveal a deliberate policy by the Israeli government in which the dietary needs for the population of Gaza are chillingly calculated, and the amounts of food let in by the Israeli government measured to remain just enough to keep the population alive at a near-starvation level. This documents the statement made by a number of Israeli officials that they are "putting the people of Gaza on a diet".

In 2007, when Israel began its full siege on Gaza, Dov Weisglass, adviser to then Prime-Minister Ehud Olmert, stated clearly, “The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” The documents now released contain equations used by the Israeli government to calculate the exact amounts of food, fuel and other necessities needed to do exactly that.

The documents are even more disturbing, say human rights activists, when one considers the fact that close to half of the people of Gaza are children under the age of eighteen. This means that Israel has deliberately forced the undernourishment of hundreds of thousands of children in direct violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

This release of documents also severely undermines Israel's oft-made claim that the siege is "for security reasons", as it documents a deliberate and systematic policy of collective punishment of the entire population of Gaza.

Gisha's director, in relation to the release of documents, said, "Israel banned glucose for biscuits and the fuel needed for regular supply of electricity – paralyzing normal life in Gaza and impairing the moral character of the State of Israel. I am sorry to say that major elements of this policy are still in place."

In its statement accompanying the release of the documents, Gisha wrote:

The documents reveal that the state approved "a policy of deliberate reduction" for basic goods in the Gaza Strip (section h.4, page 5*). Thus, for example, Israel restricted the supply of fuel needed for the power plant, disrupting the supply of electricity and water. The state set a "lower warning line" (section g.2, page 5) to give advance warning of expected shortages in a particular item, but at the same time approved ignoring that warning, if the good in question was subject to a policy of "deliberate reduction". Moreover, the state set an "upper red line" above which even basic humanitarian items could be blocked, even if they were in demand (section g.1, page 5). The state claimed in a cover letter to Gisha that in practice, it had not authorized reduction of "basic goods" below the "lower warning line", but it did not define what these "basic goods" were.

Commentator Richard Silverstein wrote: "In reviewing the list of permitted items for import, you come to realize that these are the only items allowed. In other words, if an item is not on the list, it’s prohibited. So, for example, here is the list of permitted spices: Black pepper, soup powder, hyssop, sesame. cinnamon, anise, babuna (chamomile), sage. Sorry, cumin, basil, bay leaf, allspice, carraway, cardamon, chiles, chives, cilantro, cloves, garlic, sesame, tamarind, thyme, oregano, cayenne. Not on the list. You're not a spice Palestinians need according to some IDF dunderhead. And tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, toys, glassware, paint, and shoes? You can forget about them too. Luxuries all, or else security threats."

Despite the disturbing nature of the documents, which show a calculated policy of deliberate undernourishment of an entire population, no major media organizations have reported the story.

The full text of the released documents, and the original Freedom of Information Act request filed by Gisha, can be found on Gisha's website.

All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license.

Comments

This forum is moderated by software. Please allow up to 15 minutes for your comments to go live and avoid posting the same comment multiple times.

Its said that imitation is

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 13:25 — Andrei Vyshinsky (not verified)

Its said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And what's clear is that no one has learned more from their experience with the Nazis than the Israelis. The whole Gaza exercise can all too easily be compared to that of the Warsaw Ghetto. And here the saddest aspect of the whole thing: That a nation once conceived in moral rectitude should have cast its righteousness into a sewer. We should end aid to Israel.

What part of "never again"

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 13:36 — Anonymous (not verified)

What part of "never again" does Netanyahu not understand?

Hard to believe so much

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 13:46 — Anonymous (not verified)

Hard to believe so much calculated cruelty. The human being is unpredictable. The media censure itself. No need to censure it. No wonder a few believe them.

This is despicable.

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 14:43 — nico (not verified)

This just makes me think of

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 14:44 — Anonymous (not verified)

This just makes me think of the utter vehemence Israeli officials and their supporters used against anyone who would even suggest this was policy.

How sad to think that a

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 15:52 — aecullin (not verified)

How sad to think that a supposedly civilized nation could treat fellow human beings in such a callous manner.

Andrei Vyshinsky, well said

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 16:40 — Long Ben Avery (not verified)

Andrei Vyshinsky, well said sir!

Israel has become the evil

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 17:02 — Anonymous (not verified)

Israel has become the evil they denounced. They are fascists.

If we continue our support without demanding an end to the settlements, an end to the starvation of the people of Gaza, and a beginning of serious peace negotiations, we are chumps.

Withholding aid to Israel is the only way to make them realize that we are serious about ending their atrocities.

We , the taxpayers of the

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 17:21 — Arminius Aurelius (not verified)

We , the taxpayers of the U.S. have been sending multi Billions in financial aid and Weapons of Mass Destruction to Israel for about the past 60 years . When is enough / enough ? They are a wealthy country , we cannot afford to replace our antiquated deteriorating infrastructure [ over 70 years old ] such as sewer , water , gas lines , bridges , power plants , damns, levies , etc. Are they our " friends "? Here is the proof !
Duplicity , Treason and Murder

www.ussliberty.org

for ANY human being to think

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 18:01 — Anonymous (not verified)

for ANY human being to think up and calculate the destruction of others whether it involves inventing nerve gas,bombs with ball-bearings and/or flechettes,and" plain-old ordinary torture"--these humans are sick people.
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster."(Nietzsche)
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." (JFK)
What the Israelis in charge are doing is reminiscent of past planners of destruction.....the whole world is watching and the truth will out.

Did the Nazis not count the

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 19:19 — MickrocketAB (not verified)

Did the Nazis not count the calories of the rations sent into the Warsaw Ghetto in order to starve & weaken the Jews lest they have the strength to fight back? What part of "fascist Zionist bastards" do we not understand?

Actually this was reported

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 19:29 — Chip (not verified)

Actually this was reported on May 29 2010, in the Woodchipgazette, in an article entitled "Engineering a Human Crisis" in the Idle Observations section.

Only dull minds need to be awakened by a smoking memo.

"Never again" means it will

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 19:34 — Moshe (not verified)

"Never again" means it will never happen to us again. As long as Gaza is a base for terrorists, we will make them suffer. If they want to be treated like humans, all they have to do is act like humans.

This is ABSURD information

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 19:53 — Anonymous (not verified)

This is ABSURD information on the face of it!!

Makes one regret the Israeli

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 20:59 — Anonymous (not verified)

Makes one regret the Israeli State altogether.

Shame shame shame It is so

Sun, 11/28/2010 - 21:10 — Anonymous (not verified)

Shame shame shame
It is so unbelievable to believe that human beings can be so collectively cruel and calculating. Then again, it is not so surprising. Over centuries of being disliked, those who have not learned anything except by copying others, have not learned anything to improve their own image.
I can't imagine that most Jews or Zionists are not aware of the plight of their neighbors.
What a shameful state Israel is.
Makes one wish that the state had never been established.

To Shame shame shame (

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 00:08 — Anonymous (not verified)

To Shame shame shame ( comment at 2:10)

I can't speak for Jews in Israel, but I am very much in touch with what most Jews or Zionists in this country think -- most of my relatives are ardent Zionists. They are not aware of the plight of the Palestinians, because they believe what the Israeli authorities tell them. They are very much like Americans in this respect, who believe what the government and mainstream media tell them about the Muslim world. Who believe that any measures we take to protect "our interests" are justified, including bombing entire villages to kill one suspected insurgent and torturing whomever we get our hands on.

For those of you who wish the state of Israel had never been established: I am sure that many people, especially Native Americans, feel the same way about the U.S.

Here alleged Israeli crimes

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 04:49 — Stan (not verified)

Here alleged Israeli crimes are attributed not to Israel, but to Jews--This is pure Antisemitism and it's a shame to find it on a leftist list.

"Jews are not improving their negative image held by many more that they realize."

So Truthout is again posting

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 04:59 — Stan (not verified)

So Truthout is again posting the Antisemitic ravings of someone who now calls himself Andrei Vishinsky. For those who don't recognize the name, Andrei Vishinsky was Stalin's chief prosecutor for the Moscow show trials. What kind of person would choose that for a screen name?

Making the people of Gaza go hungry was a nasty crime, but jumping from that to the deliberate starvation and killing of the Warsaw Ghetto both magnifies the Israeli crime and diminishes those of Nazi Germany.

Having looked at the

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 07:30 — Stan (not verified)

Having looked at the documents it is clear that people are jumping to false conclusions here. The restrictions were clearly illegal and designed to punish the civilian population, but there is absolutely no evidence that starvation was intended, quite the contrary as the Israelis took care to set limits that would avoid that--which is why they counted calories and which distinguishes their policies from those of the Nazis. Let's be clear, there is no starvation and no genocide here, and magnifying crimes this way doesn't serve the cause of peace or justice. The people of Gaza shouldn't have been denied imports of Chocolate, but they didn't need chocolate to survive.

Stan, its not a screen name.

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 08:37 — Anonymous (not verified)

Stan, its not a screen name. Its a nom de plume.

Anyone who can rationalize

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 09:19 — Anonymous (not verified)

Anyone who can rationalize the heinous control of the Israeli government over the Gaza strip is coming from a place of ignorance. Gaza is a pogrom. Shame on the Israeli government and those who support it. It has become the new fascist nation of the world, to the dismay of many of its own citizens. It is an abomination, supported or ignored by many of the world powers. We have come to stoop so low.

The U.S has gone into damage

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 10:05 — Joanna (not verified)

The U.S has gone into damage control mode as the world media makes sense of and processes the latest Wikileaks.

However, the depressing truth is that even though the truth may be revealed, not enough people will hear about it or care enough to do anything to change the situation.

A government starving people in a place where nearly half the population is under 18 years old would seem like front page news to me, but not surprisingly, no major media group has run the article. Why the hell not?

Like I said, the truth is out there, but not enough people will hear or care.

So sad.

Why is it that after having

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 10:08 — Anonymous (not verified)

Why is it that after having at first published it, the Truthout administrator has deleted Andrei Vyshinsky's reply to Stan above. Vyshinsky used no inappropriate language. Is it that Truthout routinely allows itself to be intimidated by roving neo-cons that systematically attempt to smear persons critical of Israel with charges of antisemitism? It certainly looks that way. Were threats made to complain to advertisers? Please account for this deletion.

It's nice to see it

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 11:52 — Gary A. (not verified)

It's nice to see it documented, but really, who didn't know already that this is how Israel thinks and treats everybody. They are "God's People", don't forget, and everyone else is inferior. And that patch of crappy land was given to them by God, and they don't care what anybody says, they will build what they want to on it. And America will always be their Ally, "Forever, and Ever, and Ever" (Sec.State Clinton).
BTW, "Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God." (Hosea 1:9)
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:36
Wake up Israel. Jesus meets every criteria and fulfills every prophecy ever made concerning the messiah, and still you reject him. God says "WAKE UP".

Why, pray tell, is anyone

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 14:36 — Robert Walters (not verified)

Why, pray tell, is anyone surprised? The ethnic cleansing/forced-removal-by-any-means of all-but-Jews from Palestine Mandate lands has, since at least the 1890s, been a driving motivation for the Zionist enterprise. Despite the apologias of the Israeli-firsters, both on this site and among the world's population, that is an incontrovertible fact, well documented in Israel's own historical archives.

It is hardly evidence of anti-Semitism to condemn such conduct simply because it is engaged in by Semites. Such conduct is inhumane, unconscionable, and indefensible by any moral argument, no matter who exhibits it. It rightly should be condemned by every person who purports to adhere to any humane system of ethics, whether embodied in a religion or otherwise.

Administrator: Anonymous

Mon, 11/29/2010 - 15:41 — Andrei Vyshinsky (not verified)

Administrator:

Anonymous 15:08 wrote inquiring as to why my reply of this morning to Stan was at first published yet later deleted. I don't see an answer to this inquiry as yet so I'll raise the question myself. Have you been intimidated somehow into deleting my comments? Your silence on the question is troubling. I'll have answer please.

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