Penny Wong slams Israeli minister’s remark that Gaza starvation may be justified

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has condemned a senior Israeli minister who suggested that the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza “might be just and moral” until hostages are returned by Hamas.

In a speech on Monday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel had no choice but to send humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Penny Wong said the deliberate starvation of civilians was a war crime.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

“It’s not possible in today’s global reality to manage a war – no one will allow us to starve two million people, even though that might be just and moral until they return the hostages,” he said at a conference in support of Jewish settlements.

In a post to X on Saturday, Wong said she joined international partners, including Britain, Germany and France in condemning Smotrich’s comments.

“The deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime. There is no justification for it, ever,” she posted.

Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham backed Wong’s condemnation of Smotrich’s comments, but said they were not reflective of Israeli policy.

“We maintain our consistent call for respect of international law and humanitarian needs. The implication in Bezalel Smotrich’s comments is repugnant. Thankfully the comments do not reflect Israeli policy and nor should they ever do so,” he said.

Smotrich, a key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, supports the re-occupation of Gaza, the rebuilding of Jewish settlements removed in 2005, and what he describes as the voluntary migration of large numbers of Palestinians out of the territory.

The European Union on Wednesday condemned his remarks, noting that the “deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime”.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there could be “no justification” for Smotrich’s words.

“We expect the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Siebert, called the remarks “unacceptable and appalling”.

“It is a principle of international law and of humanity to protect civilians in a war and to give them access to water and food,” he wrote on X.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said the “irresponsible statements” created incitement against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The US, meanwhile, has also rebuked Smotrich for what it called “ridiculous charges” against a US-brokered ceasefire proposal, saying he “ought to be ashamed” for questioning President Biden’s longstanding support for Israel, The New York Times reported.

“Some critics, like Mr Smotrich, for example, have claimed that the hostage deal is a surrender to Hamas or that hostages should not be exchanged for prisoners,” national security spokesman John Kirby said.

“Smotrich essentially suggests that the war ought to go on indefinitely without pause and with the lives of the hostages of no real concern at all. His arguments are dead wrong.”

The ongoing war sparked by Hamas’ attack last October has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Aid organisations say efforts to deliver assistance have been hindered by Israeli restrictions and ongoing fighting. Israel says it allows unlimited humanitarian aid and blames UN agencies for failing to promptly deliver it.

with AP