According to his spokesman on Friday, UN rights chief Volker Turk was “shocked and appalled” by remarks made by Israel’s finance minister that it might be “justified” to starve the people of Gaza in order to release hostages.
At a press conference, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Jeremy Laurence said, “The UN condemns these words in the strongest terms, which also incite hatred against innocent civilians.”
At a conference earlier this week, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich incited controversy by declaring, “No one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages.”
“We have no choice but to bring in humanitarian aid. In order to carry out this war, we need international legitimacy,” Smotrich stated.
Reporters were informed by Turkey’s spokesperson that “it is a war crime to starve civilians as a means of warfare.”
This candid and open declaration runs the risk of encouraging more crimes of terror. Laurence stated that such remarks, particularly those made by public officials, have to stop right away. They ought to be looked into, and if they turn out to be illegal, they ought to be brought to justice and punished.
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