United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk strongly condemned the call by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to starve two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
UN human rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence conveyed Turk’s condemnation on Friday at a weekly press briefing for the UN Office in Geneva.
According to Laurence, Turk indicated he was “shocked and appalled” at Smotrich’s statement earlier this week in which he suggested the deliberate starvation of Palestinian civilians in Gaza to release Israeli hostages.
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Laurence stated: “The High Commissioner condemns these words in the strongest terms. They also incite hatred against innocent civilians. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.”
He noted that such direct and public statements risk provoking other brutal crimes, calling for them to cease immediately.
“They must be investigated and, if found to amount to a crime, must be prosecuted and punished,” Laurence declared.
Turk reiterated his call for a ceasefire in Gaza, adding that all hostages must be released and humanitarian aid must be allowed into Gaza.
Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist party, remarked on Monday that starving two million Palestinians in Gaza could be “justified and moral” for the sake of the return of Israeli hostages from the Strip.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240810-un-responds-to-smotrich-starvation-collective-punishment-of-palestinians-a-war-crime/
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