Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s suggestion that starving millions of people in Gaza is “just and moral” has sparked global outrage. His comments, made during a speech last week, have been widely condemned by global powers including the European Union, the United Kingdom and France.
Smotrich commented that withholding aid to the besieged region could be a means of “freeing the hostages”.
“Nobody in the world would allow us to starve two million people to death, even if it were just and moral to free the hostages,” the right-wing minister said, according to news agency AFP.
The European Union reacted immediately, calling the deliberate starvation of civilians a “war crime” and demanding that the Israeli government distance itself from the minister’s words. It said the remarks showed “contempt for international law and fundamental principles of humanity.”
France expressed “deep disappointment” and criticised the right-wing minister, AFP reported. It said providing humanitarian aid to Gaza is “an obligation under international humanitarian law” because Israel controls the territory.
Germany strongly condemned the remarks, calling them “completely unacceptable and outrageous.” A Foreign Office spokesman in Berlin said civilians must be protected in war and have access to essential resources such as water and food as this is a “basic principle” mandated by international humanitarian law.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called on the Israeli government to “repudiate and condemn” the remarks, while in a separate development, the US State Department demanded a full investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees by Israeli soldiers. The allegations came after a video was released on Israel’s Channel 12 showing soldiers taking a detainee away from camera view to abuse him.
The video has sparked further scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees, with Israeli authorities launching an investigation into alleged abuse by soldiers. Nine soldiers have already been arrested following the investigation, prompting protests by right-wing Israelis and the storming of two military bases in response.
Amid growing concerns, Israeli rights group B’Tselem has published a report saying the abuse of Palestinian prisoners has become so widespread it amounts to a policy of “institutional abuse”.
In May, International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced plans to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant. The warrants relate to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. The devastating conflict, now close to 10 months old, has left vast areas of Gaza in ruins. A crippling blockade has severely limited access to essential resources such as food, clean water and medicine.
Israel’s war in Gaza has created a terrible humanitarian crisis that has displaced almost all of its 2.4 million residents, killed nearly 40,000 and injured nearly 100,000 Palestinians. Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered an immediate halt to military operations in Rafah. The southern city sheltered more than 1 million Palestinians before the invasion and bombing in May.
