Israel uses starvation as a weapon of war, say Israeli sources.
‘Generals’ Plan’ calls for closed military zone and evacuation, with those remaining treated as combatants and denied aid
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" James Shotter in Jerusalem, Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv and Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper in London OCTOBER 15 2024
Israel appears to be starting to implement a controversial plan to force Hamas into submission by laying siege to the north of Gaza and starving those who remain, Israeli human rights groups have warned.
The so-called Generals’ Plan, created by former national security adviser Giora Eiland, calls for Israel to order civilians to leave north Gaza for other areas of the enclave, and then declare the north a closed military zone.
Those who did not leave would be considered military targets, and totally cut off from supplies of food, water and medicines.
Eiland said the plan — which he presented to parliament’s defence committee last month — was designed to ratchet up pressure on Hamas to release the 101 Israeli hostages that the Palestinian militant group still holds in Gaza. But human rights groups say it would trap civilians, and that carrying out the plan would breach international law."
"According to two people with knowledge of internal Israeli deliberations, senior Israeli security officials are unwilling to officially approve the plan, with some considering parts of it to be violations of international law.But Israeli media reported last month that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told MPs he was considering the scheme. On Monday, four human rights groups — Gisha, B’Tselem, PHR-I and Yesh Din — said there were “alarming signs” that Israel was “quietly” starting to implement it, and called on the international community to stop it. The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to comment."
"The stated objective of this operation is to destroy regrouped Palestinian resistance forces in the north. However, observers have noted that this new assault may be the first stage of what Israeli media has dubbed the “General’s Plan” of ethnically cleansing northern Gaza as a form of collective punishment of Palestinians.
The plan was put forward by retired General Giora Eiland and calls for the expulsion of Palestinians from the area and the forced starvation and targeting of whoever stays behind – to be deemed “legitimate military targets”. At a session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs Defence Committee in September, Eiland reportedly
said: “What matters to [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar is land and dignity, and with this manoeuvre, you take away both land and dignity.”
Major General Giora Eiland tells Sky News' The World that a "siege is a legitimate, practical measure that can be taken against the enemy".
news.sky.com
Giora Eiland tells Jeremy Bowen that Israel should tell Palestinians to leave northern Gaza before sealing it off as a way of pressuring Hamas.
www.bbc.co.uk
