[News] UN expert says 'Israel' intentionally starving Palestinians

Tue Feb 27 11:31:59 EST 2024

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/un-expert-says--israel--intentionally-starving-palestinians>
UN expert says 'Israel' intentionally starving Palestinians
Al Mayadeen English
February 27, 2023
------------------------------

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food states that intentionally
depriving people of food, like 'Israel' has been doing, is a war crime.
[image: 0652ce59-5eed-42b5-8442-d2df51738d30.jpg]

   - UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, gives a
   press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024.(*AP*)

The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri stated in an
exclusive interview with *The Guardian* that "Israel" is deliberately
starving Palestinians and should be held responsible for war crimes and
genocide.

“There is no reason to intentionally block the passage of humanitarian aid
or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels, greenhouses, and
orchards in Gaza – other than to deny people access to food," Fakhri stated.

He further emphasized that “Intentionally depriving people of food is
clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the
Palestinian people
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iof-detain-three-prcs-doctors--release-one--prcs>,
in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. In my view as a UN human
rights expert, this is now a situation of genocide. This means the State of
Israel in its entirety is culpable and should be held accountable – not
just individuals or this government, or that person."

Fakhri, who is a law professor at the University of Oregon also said, “The
speed of malnourishment of young children is also astounding. The bombing
and people being killed directly is brutal, but this starvation – and the
wasting and stunting of children – is torturous and vile. It will have a
long-term impact on the population physically, cognitively, and morally…All
things indicate that this has been intentional."

“We have never seen a civilian population made to go so hungry so quickly
and so completely, that is the consensus among starvation experts,” Fakhri
stressed, further emphasizing “Israel is not just targeting civilians, it
is trying to damn the future of the Palestinian people by harming their
children.”

Addressing the funding cut on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/unrwa-say-its-facilities-were-bombed-332-times-by-israeli-fo>
(UNRWA) amid the Israeli campaign against the organization, Fakhri
commented, “Ending funding almost instantaneously based on unsubstantiated
claims against a small number of people has no other purpose other than
collective punishment of all Palestinians in multiple countries. The
countries that withdrew this lifeline are undoubtedly complicit in the
starvation of Palestinians."

Since October 7, 24,000 acres of olives remained unharvested in the West
Bank after "Israel" massively stopped farmers from accessing their
orchards, resulting in the loss of 1,200 metric tons, or $10 million of
olive oil, a key Palestinian export and a powerful symbol of Palestinian
identity.

Fakhri addressed the above-mentioned stating, “The destruction of olive
trees isn’t just an issue of food or commerce, it’s at the core of what it
means to be Palestinian and their relationship to the land, just as the sea
is central to what it means to be from Gaza."

Fakhri further stressed that “Israel will claim there are exceptions to war
crimes. But there is no exception to genocide and there’s no argument as to
why Israel is destroying civilian infrastructure, the food system, and
humanitarian workers, and allowing this degree of malnutrition and hunger …
the charge of genocide holds a whole state accountable and the remedy of
genocide is the issue of self-determination of the Palestinian people,"
concluding, “The path forward must not just be ending the war but actually
peace.”
A deeper look into Israeli crimes addressed by Fakhri

The United Nations warned on February 19 that an alarming lack of food,
surging malnutrition, and the rampant spread of disease could spark an
explosion in child deaths in Gaza.

Twenty weeks into the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, UN agencies
warned that food and safe water
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/un-agencies-warn-of--explosion--in-gaza-child-deaths>
had become "incredibly scarce" in the Palestinian territory, adding that
virtually all young children had infectious illnesses.

"The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child
deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in
Gaza," Ted Chaiban, deputy head of humanitarian action at the UN children's
agency UNICEF, expressed.

At least 90% of children under five in Gaza are affected by one or more
infectious diseases, according to a joint assessment by the UN agencies for
children, food, and health.
Why is this happening?

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor released a statement
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--deliberately-killing-palestinians-as-they-gather-fo>
on January 16 stressing that the Israeli occupation forces are not only
starving Palestinians in northern Gaza due to the continuous blockade, but
have also killed dozens of individuals who tried to receive the meager aid
that is arriving there, continuing the genocide being committed against
Palestinians since October 7.

There were shocking testimonies of the Israeli forces killing and injuring
dozens of Palestinians on Thursday, January 11, 2024, on al-Rashid Street,
west of Gaza, as they attempted to receive humanitarian aid.

It was also shown that dozens of Palestinians gathered on al-Rashid Street,
which had been destroyed by Israeli bulldozers in recent weeks, awaiting
the arrival of the UN trucks carrying flour. Out of nowhere, Israeli
quadcopter drones opened fire on them, killing 50 of them and injuring many
others. Those who managed to survive this massacre transferred the wounded,
as the dead remained on the ground.
Human rights groups have commented on the above

Two human rights organizations accused "Israel" on Monday of further
restricting humanitarian supplies
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--further-blocks-gaza-aid-defying-un-court--rights-gr>
to Gaza, despite the ICJ's ruling.

Exactly one month ago, the International Court of Justice in The Hague
declared that "Israel" must do everything possible to avert genocide in the
besieged region. The ICJ further emphasized the importance of taking
"immediate and effective measures" to provide relief.

However, Amnesty International stated that Israeli authorities have "failed
to take even the bare minimum steps to comply" with the ICJ verdict.

ICJ decisions are legally binding, but the court lacks an enforcement
mechanism.

Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that the number of
assistance trucks entering Gaza has fallen by around one-third since the
verdict came out.
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