[News] Starvation is a war crime: Note from the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians

Wed Mar 13 14:08:10 EDT 2024

peoplesdispatch.org
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/03/13/starvation-is-a-war-crime-note-from-the-israeli-genocide-against-the-palestinians/>
Starvation is a war crime: Note from the Israeli genocide against the
Palestinians
Vijay Prashad
March 13, 2024
------------------------------

Displaced Palestinians wait for food at Al-Shaboura camp, in Rafah. Photo:
WHO via UN Photo

Speaking in Rome, Italy, the head of the United Nations World Food Program
Cindy McCain said
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“If we do not exponentially increase the size of aid going into the
northern areas” of Gaza, “famine is imminent. It’s imminent.” Over 30,000
Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by the genocidal Israeli war, and the
Palestinians in Gaza are on the verge of famine. Palestine’s Permanent
Observer at the United Nations Riyad Mansour said
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that over half a million people are “one step away from famine.” “What it
means for mothers and fathers to hear their babies and children cry of
hunger day and night, no milk, no bread, nothing,” he added. Indeed, babies
and children already have begun to die due to the famine-like conditions in
Gaza. With Ramadan already begun, the situation is not only physically
acute, but also mentally torturous.

There are currently 2,000 medical workers who are trying their best to
operate basic medical care in northern Gaza. They are working without
access to any hospital facilities and often with no power or water,
including very limited supplies of medicines. Now, the Palestinian Ministry
of Health in Gaza has said that these workers are themselves in a dire
situation. The staff, said
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the Ministry, “will start Ramadan without Suhoor or Iftar meals.” “Doctors
will die. The nurses there will die. And the world will witness the largest
number of victims of hunger in the coming days,” said Ashraf al-Qudra, the
ministry’s spokesperson.
*War crime*

In June 1977, at a conference on humanitarian law in armed conflict, the
member states of the United Nations extended the Geneva Conventions (1949)
to add Protocol II. Article 14 of that protocol says
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that “[s]tarvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited.” The
belligerent power is “prohibited to attack, destroy, remove, or render
useless” any “objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian
population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of
foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and
irrigation works.” Two decades later, when the UN member states wrote up
the Rome Statute
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(1998), they added in a section on starvation under the heading of war
crimes (Article 8); “intentionally using starvation of civilians as a
method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their
survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies” is a war crime. The
Rome Statute is the treaty that formed the International Criminal Court
(ICC), which has thus far remained silent
<https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BHnabKY-2FZumkvZ-2FloB-2FItA6WvI083MXp-2BlVjl4nfMiQMcGLi_r0aPuFam2OijKUCcDq4dNDjTJmePosxNM8FvaCY4l46l9mV64uq0pfn9J2QgxAbqQRR3yDq1O-2BvH2FLd-2FSSMUV-2BjrMhbP0R2EBw0vVT7HcvOXtm6OPbMgPg3RE7bwF5EBlCYg9FIHVtDEalzEWx3pZTro58NMNM93o9qEXd3lmYL2OiK-2FCmQHvJlJjWtF0fF9v8Q-2B6agyuZZIxxmckt1mLP9y-2Bp-2Ff6vcfeQN-2BFgE4xhy0DvtfNoMx5NNVpjODmtcr-2B9nAmMblNutT-2FGutPFU8LIJK6NFllj5okVf6AoY3Beyq2kRjF86thuRbxNp4TIEaOWGOCvtxqxNo47gPWDntWEGOjvCIAv43pH6gugq9KgbZ9K-2BkIiXaBOC1B7UmtKlsAJA8vgXm-2FXp807sFDvva5finEWG094-2B2M7UrKxFCJXiaNT-2By1UxOQH3XarP4EwiO341aZGeuWmMzhCmPaoteiKWJKij1SBLRQfWJ5fwaI49oGE0VMcdUEp5KytWhaMWJmJPQYhOQxbHOMwR4aZ4ukn2Ac2h5yJfbtcR-2B0fAjPRuOp2DJlYERiKukqaRhNtvB6d6pev-2Fk74AYT-2BFGmA3Jp0pEolFO9T7bcYS-2Fp03jrgtXdAdJf8l9Mu4xRtIjki74TjUvw13h6vkMb3KI3LsuC0AXL62JWlnah2SrkWMaSi3bqBa5q3E3B75vkKtDhAJp7f3bUVdZ9f4SKU-2B24-2FWcFuOJhf-2BXBDC3IG4H0zDw2OwSIgFDR6HfO2dHBqyQumP2lPr8EyVPoOYlCPe44uyVDNfSlgMvy4Zv4OV-2FJDq8yyS4xK4INv7KVpkDmx-2Fnc7MYvZqHeyrriWf-2BfxPN8jOIAepsOlupSf-2FSwx8kZHwzqo-3D>
on its obligations to act on its own founding document.

On February 29th, trucks with humanitarian aid came into the northern part
of Gaza. When desperate people rushed to these trucks, Israeli soldiers
fired on them and killed at least 118 unarmed civilians. This is now known
as the Flour Massacre. In its aftermath, 10 UN experts released a strong
statement
<https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BDkt2q3uRNpegaSG-2BLSjD-2FTEptYOJ1tW5QoubuAyF2loYTZusHv-2BKlaJfFXill-2BTS832aEVcnLE9ZYETIFmP4oraf2E2d2iSSB2o-2Fy-2BxuTmY0sRZJgLR4iGqSUQCkr5cSEv6-2F1wn-2FyieSBcJWPS9OGH7j6E-2Bw8610N6Xti2fz1svd4iA_r0aPuFam2OijKUCcDq4dNDjTJmePosxNM8FvaCY4l46l9mV64uq0pfn9J2QgxAbqQRR3yDq1O-2BvH2FLd-2FSSMUV-2BjrMhbP0R2EBw0vVT7HcvOXtm6OPbMgPg3RE7bwF5EBlCYg9FIHVtDEalzEWx3pZTro58NMNM93o9qEXd3lmYL2OiK-2FCmQHvJlJjWtF0fF9v8Q-2B6agyuZZIxxmckt1mLP9y-2Bp-2Ff6vcfeQN-2BFgE4xhy0DvtfNoMx5NNVpjODmtcr-2B9nAmMblNutT-2FGutPFU8LIJK6NFllj5okVf6AoY3Beyq2kRjF86thuRbxNp4TIEaOWGOCvtxqxNo47gPWDntWEGOjvCIAv43pH6gugq9KgbZ9K-2BkIiXaBOC1B7UmtKlsAJA8vgXm-2FXp807sFDvva5finEWG094-2B2M7UrKxFCJXiaNT-2By1UxOQH3XarP4EwiO341aZGeuWmMzhCmPaoteiKWJKij1SBLRQfWJ5fwaI49oGE0VMcdUEp5KytWhaMWJmJPQYhOQxbHOMwR4aZ4ukn2Ac2h5yJfbtcR-2B0fAjPRuOp2DJlYERiKukqaRhNtvB6d6pev-2Fk74AYT-2BFGmA3Jp0pEolFO9T7bcYS-2Fp03jrgtXdAdJf8l9Mu4xRtIjki74TjUvw13h6vkMb3KI3LsuJUBUA6w-2Bi61QDtQweRXiowzBGvi-2BCcjLA-2BuVfJfBAqLOmsXw7otpITOSuWdEeRsbq4Foc7C-2FfcoY1gLDcIHZ8j6ATJEvNzw6eW20IkYk03P5Qhq02uGA8kySHk5j1VdN-2BW1Irt3s-2Br43K3d5oVbnsjDju3coHJeMmyETpVV0UPjaQ9g4KUHgjMHKABRkytz-2Boa6if9JRIIgvqUA6MQcyIU-3D>,
which noted, “Israel has been intentionally starving the Palestinian people
in Gaza since 8 October. Now it is targeting civilians seeking humanitarian
aid and humanitarian convoys.” The UN special rapporteur for food, Michael
Fakhri, who signed that statement, later expanded this accusation against
Israel. “Israel,” he told
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the UN Human Rights Council, “has mounted a starvation campaign against the
Palestinian people in Gaza.” These statements are very pointed. Words such
as “intentionally” and phrases such as “starvation campaign” directly
accuse Israel of war crimes based on Protocol II and the Rome Statute.

Fakhri focused on Gaza’s fishing industry, which had provided important
food security for the 2.3 million Palestinians who live there. “Israeli
forces,” he said
<https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BMtTATfpOtb7b1IKRJ5El1n6ihbmaWDKtPPzovrt40kGkM3RBPwdenI8lG9vzktySQ-3D-3DW4FM_r0aPuFam2OijKUCcDq4dNDjTJmePosxNM8FvaCY4l46l9mV64uq0pfn9J2QgxAbqQRR3yDq1O-2BvH2FLd-2FSSMUV-2BjrMhbP0R2EBw0vVT7HcvOXtm6OPbMgPg3RE7bwF5EBlCYg9FIHVtDEalzEWx3pZTro58NMNM93o9qEXd3lmYL2OiK-2FCmQHvJlJjWtF0fF9v8Q-2B6agyuZZIxxmckt1mLP9y-2Bp-2Ff6vcfeQN-2BFgE4xhy0DvtfNoMx5NNVpjODmtcr-2B9nAmMblNutT-2FGutPFU8LIJK6NFllj5okVf6AoY3Beyq2kRjF86thuRbxNp4TIEaOWGOCvtxqxNo47gPWDntWEGOjvCIAv43pH6gugq9KgbZ9K-2BkIiXaBOC1B7UmtKlsAJA8vgXm-2FXp807sFDvva5finEWG094-2B2M7UrKxFCJXiaNT-2By1UxOQH3XarP4EwiO341aZGeuWmMzhCmPaoteiKWJKij1SBLRQfWJ5fwaI49oGE0VMcdUEp5KytWhaMWJmJPQYhOQxbHOMwR4aZ4ukn2Ac2h5yJfbtcR-2B0fAjPRuOp2DJlYERiKukqaRhNtvB6d6pev-2Fk74AYT-2BFGmA3Jp0pEolFO9T7bcYS-2Fp03jrgtXdAdJf8l9Mu4xRtIjki74TjUvw13h6vkMb3KI3LsuL7wKJkHKHEmdEG954SlMhuj3X7I5Ofmvs-2FucOFE85Cpw-2Fe3DZ6yW9bOEr7MQ3lxmUL-2Fi-2FFOYMiWSnqHpp2hdTwTF6jZM9X7WHwafrVicUR5MCPF1qRWXkxzdpYoQ455jnUgfiOFMvVjyi4jtNcJI3QoHMFqt7amz-2Fv-2FQhryp-2FupybZ0GpBOGutjsU8EUiTf-2BYieliiYUNxQ1fG71HtxSGY-3D>,
have “decimated the Port of Gaza, destroying every single fishing boat and
shack. In Rafah, only two out of 40 boats are left. In Khan Younis, Israel
destroyed approximately 75 small-scale fishing vessels.” This destruction,
Fakhri said, has pushed Gaza “into hunger and starvation.” “In fact,” he
added, “Israel has been strangling Gaza for 17 years through a blockade,
which included denying and restricting small-scale fishers access to their
territorial waters.”

At the UN General Assembly, Palestine’s Riyad Mansour said
<https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BN1KwEmt9kNxkmKPD2GREb55M5wAZ-2Bo6LvK1m0lLmYNIEKIEHa4EFug-2Bkj-2BtvdvBVA-3D-3DFS6W_r0aPuFam2OijKUCcDq4dNDjTJmePosxNM8FvaCY4l46l9mV64uq0pfn9J2QgxAbqQRR3yDq1O-2BvH2FLd-2FSSMUV-2BjrMhbP0R2EBw0vVT7HcvOXtm6OPbMgPg3RE7bwF5EBlCYg9FIHVtDEalzEWx3pZTro58NMNM93o9qEXd3lmYL2OiK-2FCmQHvJlJjWtF0fF9v8Q-2B6agyuZZIxxmckt1mLP9y-2Bp-2Ff6vcfeQN-2BFgE4xhy0DvtfNoMx5NNVpjODmtcr-2B9nAmMblNutT-2FGutPFU8LIJK6NFllj5okVf6AoY3Beyq2kRjF86thuRbxNp4TIEaOWGOCvtxqxNo47gPWDntWEGOjvCIAv43pH6gugq9KgbZ9K-2BkIiXaBOC1B7UmtKlsAJA8vgXm-2FXp807sFDvva5finEWG094-2B2M7UrKxFCJXiaNT-2By1UxOQH3XarP4EwiO341aZGeuWmMzhCmPaoteiKWJKij1SBLRQfWJ5fwaI49oGE0VMcdUEp5KytWhaMWJmJPQYhOQxbHOMwR4aZ4ukn2Ac2h5yJfbtcR-2B0fAjPRuOp2DJlYERiKukqaRhNtvB6d6pev-2Fk74AYT-2BFGmA3Jp0pEolFO9T7bcYS-2Fp03jrgtXdAdJf8l9Mu4xRtIjki74TjUvw13h6vkMb3KI3LsuPpEfjqGojKeOSJ8igJqMugk2J6zshTQ0X36jA1zmCAaGBuaLU1Jn8w-2FkXWo9MtqhqN8Apa2li3FpOicFji-2F1V9WzdmXXBBZUpmihkm3-2BbnXhRj7KJuxnCwbZUch3q6gFAKRpeuqZplXRUJeaG6UhLmfVJgaTaTG4lZazvl-2FTCTy4ClLbYOKwmCXpKh0loEHC8SPt6Ta1NqISdCu-2FqfWoFU-3D>
that Israel has bombed “every bakery and farm, destroying livestock and all
means of food production.” In the first month of the bombardment, Israel
bombed the major bakeries of Gaza City. In November 2023, Abdelnasser
al-Jarmi of the Bakery Owners Association in the Gaza Strip said
<https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BEL51FWnLnQoKfoBXs4uCcFownnuxGlFSN3e3KtIW4-2FzlSg9LptXEgSuuD1OYAY-2FdrUbK8K16-2B-2FnH2YxDmzs8J6kATPESfqi5oSmx9s21BTDAmDN_r0aPuFam2OijKUCcDq4dNDjTJmePosxNM8FvaCY4l46l9mV64uq0pfn9J2QgxAbqQRR3yDq1O-2BvH2FLd-2FSSMUV-2BjrMhbP0R2EBw0vVT7HcvOXtm6OPbMgPg3RE7bwF5EBlCYg9FIHVtDEalzEWx3pZTro58NMNM93o9qEXd3lmYL2OiK-2FCmQHvJlJjWtF0fF9v8Q-2B6agyuZZIxxmckt1mLP9y-2Bp-2Ff6vcfeQN-2BFgE4xhy0DvtfNoMx5NNVpjODmtcr-2B9nAmMblNutT-2FGutPFU8LIJK6NFllj5okVf6AoY3Beyq2kRjF86thuRbxNp4TIEaOWGOCvtxqxNo47gPWDntWEGOjvCIAv43pH6gugq9KgbZ9K-2BkIiXaBOC1B7UmtKlsAJA8vgXm-2FXp807sFDvva5finEWG094-2B2M7UrKxFCJXiaNT-2By1UxOQH3XarP4EwiO341aZGeuWmMzhCmPaoteiKWJKij1SBLRQfWJ5fwaI49oGE0VMcdUEp5KytWhaMWJmJPQYhOQxbHOMwR4aZ4ukn2Ac2h5yJfbtcR-2B0fAjPRuOp2DJlYERiKukqaRhNtvB6d6pev-2Fk74AYT-2BFGmA3Jp0pEolFO9T7bcYS-2Fp03jrgtXdAdJf8l9Mu4xRtIjki74TjUvw13h6vkMb3KI3LsuBOb0uVkF782AiB3eKs4WPtVMphVIKKGdUhO8MYWbQfDpPm9j-2Br5lAmnMORFe7TNjBOo-2F0s0qZm-2B0Iw2Qz5j9-2ByVSXbWEwqmlF3n-2B-2Buor7cp4HOouVdSj3bImY96MSyAQp4SyEZTKMyOMNsivmlbUreQ6ekoyFbMz2x7XHUa3nCGFm1XkQXobzAzbFNfcKvd5Om-2B5Aze4-2BibktfZmg62fy0-3D>
that bakeries have not been able to function for lack of fuel and flour. As
a consequence of the absence of bread, families have begun to gather a weed
called *khubaiza* (or *Malva parviflora*) and to boil this as the main
meal. “We are dying for a piece of bread,” said
<https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BOOIkRgXUsaVNJ00-2Bir48fLBgvdEbz9lnLXb-2Bt8mY1SL-2BgBQpFz1Na5zjrJCjd75W-2BEG5751jM9cQSFacy1vkh6QjvRsNwh1HrS-2FqaxgZor84mSy9aLNAUoK9okoZ9y5cFlDbt3yTSLJq8b4RpJPTIAwLos1LYW9NR5CaCQDYsUswnuaIhcBWFZWFIt0eHXbUw-3D-3DFpxN_r0aPuFam2OijKUCcDq4dNDjTJmePosxNM8FvaCY4l46l9mV64uq0pfn9J2QgxAbqQRR3yDq1O-2BvH2FLd-2FSSMUV-2BjrMhbP0R2EBw0vVT7HcvOXtm6OPbMgPg3RE7bwF5EBlCYg9FIHVtDEalzEWx3pZTro58NMNM93o9qEXd3lmYL2OiK-2FCmQHvJlJjWtF0fF9v8Q-2B6agyuZZIxxmckt1mLP9y-2Bp-2Ff6vcfeQN-2BFgE4xhy0DvtfNoMx5NNVpjODmtcr-2B9nAmMblNutT-2FGutPFU8LIJK6NFllj5okVf6AoY3Beyq2kRjF86thuRbxNp4TIEaOWGOCvtxqxNo47gPWDntWEGOjvCIAv43pH6gugq9KgbZ9K-2BkIiXaBOC1B7UmtKlsAJA8vgXm-2FXp807sFDvva5finEWG094-2B2M7UrKxFCJXiaNT-2By1UxOQH3XarP4EwiO341aZGeuWmMzhCmPaoteiKWJKij1SBLRQfWJ5fwaI49oGE0VMcdUEp5KytWhaMWJmJPQYhOQxbHOMwR4aZ4ukn2Ac2h5yJfbtcR-2B0fAjPRuOp2DJlYERiKukqaRhNtvB6d6pev-2Fk74AYT-2BFGmA3Jp0pEolFO9T7bcYS-2Fp03jrgtXdAdJf8l9Mu4xRtIjki74TjUvw13h6vkMb3KI3LsuJNmRkjpqRVvxiWgzS9Au2Q6JfxW0q5MeIGmRqRfLmsh7z31hPGp5NEGhIslj5MFVkshVwin-2FHh831xaRNsI4hYA-2FCZocyAJ0H12daLCZFFd6xNW78amcswbXkDODeFpSeBvM0OH2MITiPF7xMBFYQjax4AycfmqcGHos8Bc3f4Ed1d0JApVW-2BLoi7nUQ4UbVtvxo-2BnqUdwqVKNhEOQaehY-3D>
Fatima Shaheen as she built a meal for her two sons and their children in
northern Gaza.
*Crossings*

Israel has refused to fully open the crossings into Gaza at Beit Hanoun and
Karem Abu Salem as well as refused to allow complete opening of the Rafah
crossing the links Gaza to Egypt. Since these land crossings are closed,
and since Israel destroyed the Yasser Arafat International Airport in 2001,
there are no easy solutions to bring food aid into Gaza. Delivery of food
and supplies through the air is not sufficient—indeed it is a drop in the
ocean (which is where some of the aid packages landed). There is now talk
of building maritime corridors
<https://u36605228.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.irwnA1ZB8N-2BHNL3jUmYY-2BMtTATfpOtb7b1IKRJ5El1n6ihbmaWDKtPPzovrt40kGSIY9j89PKOFjmSy8YfPcfg-3D-3D3LL8_r0aPuFam2OijKUCcDq4dNDjTJmePosxNM8FvaCY4l46l9mV64uq0pfn9J2QgxAbqQRR3yDq1O-2BvH2FLd-2FSSMUV-2BjrMhbP0R2EBw0vVT7HcvOXtm6OPbMgPg3RE7bwF5EBlCYg9FIHVtDEalzEWx3pZTro58NMNM93o9qEXd3lmYL2OiK-2FCmQHvJlJjWtF0fF9v8Q-2B6agyuZZIxxmckt1mLP9y-2Bp-2Ff6vcfeQN-2BFgE4xhy0DvtfNoMx5NNVpjODmtcr-2B9nAmMblNutT-2FGutPFU8LIJK6NFllj5okVf6AoY3Beyq2kRjF86thuRbxNp4TIEaOWGOCvtxqxNo47gPWDntWEGOjvCIAv43pH6gugq9KgbZ9K-2BkIiXaBOC1B7UmtKlsAJA8vgXm-2FXp807sFDvva5finEWG094-2B2M7UrKxFCJXiaNT-2By1UxOQH3XarP4EwiO341aZGeuWmMzhCmPaoteiKWJKij1SBLRQfWJ5fwaI49oGE0VMcdUEp5KytWhaMWJmJPQYhOQxbHOMwR4aZ4ukn2Ac2h5yJfbtcR-2B0fAjPRuOp2DJlYERiKukqaRhNtvB6d6pev-2Fk74AYT-2BFGmA3Jp0pEolFO9T7bcYS-2Fp03jrgtXdAdJf8l9Mu4xRtIjki74TjUvw13h6vkMb3KI3LsuHaI99HAf8s-2B3uHp-2BfBnJt3ZIgCp6-2Fp2V7drWYE6a0Jp-2FOqJdImRkTQgxfc5u8FDUwvuZwbRvKQEAGaelE-2FTIFcnxeuvzfv-2FU1nydoEq-2F8UCa2eU8FFUutVmtTa9gXpb-2B8DlRfUMm0tIDApZ-2FyI3UjwPQRZWwIayKCY6-2FZU1z42Qajq-2Fk0PO6l1VDFlf8AwZNFh4E1hJKc5RB8XV8hj1JIU-3D>,
but since Israel has bombed the Port of Gaza this is not an easy option.
That the US has said that it would build a temporary pier off the coast of
Gaza’s southern half is ridiculous. It would be so much easier to open the
Rafah crossing to allow at least 500 trucks a day into Gaza. But Israel
will not permit this option.

International law is clear as daylight on the point of starvation as a war
crime. There are no loopholes in Protocol II (1977) or in the Rome Statute
(1998). Friends in Gaza are finding this Ramadan month to be more difficult
than any previously. Starvation is their general condition. But, unlike
with other Ramadans, there is no early morning meal (Suhoor) and no
late-night meal (Iftar). There is only the perennial noise of Israeli
fighter jets mirrored by the groans of hunger in their bellies.

*This article was produced by Globetrotter <https://globetrotter.media/>.*

*Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor, and journalist. He is a
writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is an editor of
LeftWord Books and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social
Research. He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations
and The Poorer Nations. His latest books are Struggle Makes Us Human:
Learning from Movements for Socialism and (with Noam Chomsky) The
Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power.*
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