Saudi accuses Israel of starving Gaza’s population

Saudi Arabia yesterday accused Israel of pursuing a systematic policy of starving the population of the Gaza Strip, Anadolu news agency reported.

“Israel is pursuing a systematic policy of starvation in the Gaza Strip,” Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan told a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo.

He called for forcing Israel “to do what we are all committed to, which is adherence to international law and humanitarian law.”

“We need a valuable and binding international resolution to stop the Israeli occupation’s aggression against Gaza,” Bin Farhan continued, adding that the Israeli violations have claimed the lives of nearly 30,000 people.

“The priority is to stop the aggression against Gaza and bring in humanitarian aid.”

Shoukry called for implementing a provisional ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the Israeli war on Gaza and for “respecting the rules of international legitimacy.”

The ICJ on Friday found South Africa’s claim that Israel is committing genocide plausible. The court issued an interim order urging Israel to stop obstructing aid deliveries into Gaza and to improve the humanitarian situation.

Read: Starving family killed in Gaza just hours after getting food aid

Shoukry also condemned Western countries for suspending support for UNRWA, saying an organisation that provides aid should not be punished for “individual actions that are still under investigation.”

Since Friday, the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Britain, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland have “temporarily” suspended funding for the UN agency, following Israeli allegations that 12 of its employees participated in the Hamas attack on 7 October.

Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with Hamas members in efforts to discredit them, providing no proof of the claims, while lobbying hard to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees. If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.