Israeli NGOs Warn the World: Act Now or Be Complicit in Mass Starvation

Four Israeli human rights NGOs, that call themselves “the Israeli ceasefire coalition”, have “called on the international community to take action now to prevent Israel from forcibly transferring hundreds of thousands of Palestinians” out of Northern Gaza through a siege involving cutting off all food, water, and fuel. The statement was signed by B’Tselem (the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories), Gisha (the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement), Yesh Din (Volunteers for Human Rights) and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHR-I). It states bluntly:

“There are alarming signs that the Israeli military is beginning to quietly implement the Generals’ Plan, also referred to as the Eiland Plan, which calls for completely forcible transfer of the civilians of the northern Gaza Strip through tightening the siege on the area and starving the population.

“The NGOs reiterated the warning that states have an obligation to prevent the crimes of starvation and forcible transfer, and that if the continuation of the ‘wait and see’ approach will enable Israel to liquidate northern Gaza, they will be complicit. All states and relevant international institutions should act now and use all tools at their disposal — legal, diplomatic and economic — to prevent this.”

To remind our readers: the so-called “Generals’ Plan” was drafted by a group of retired IDF generals, led by Gen. Giora Eiland, and was submitted to the government in September. Phase one gives all citizens in Northern Gaza (“about 300,000 people”) one week to leave; when the week is up, the area will be declared a closed military zone. The next phase involves imposing “a complete and tight siege” to prevent any movement to and from it and to prevent “the entry of supplies, including food, fuel and water”. On Oct. 5, 6, and 7, the Israeli army issued new evacuation orders affecting over 400,000 people in the north of the Gaza Strip, and three hospitals.

At the same time, the Israeli Defense Forces have deliberately targeted the United Nations agencies and peacekeeping mission in both Gaza and Lebanon. As a result of the attacks, the UNIFIL has had to reduce its presence by 20 to 25%. But Netanyahu, in his mad drive for power, has demanded that the UN completely withdraw UN peacekeeping troops from Southern Lebanon, which Secretary General Guterres has flatly refused to do.

Moreover, an Israeli parliamentary commission approved a law last week that would ban the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating on all Israeli territory and end all contact between the government and the agency. That would mean that all emergency aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians “would grind to a halt”, warned UNRWA commissioner Philippe Lazzarini. The full parliament has yet to vote on the bill.