Know More About Palestine



Thursday Oct. 18, 2012 3:28 PM (EST+7)
Israel Gaza blockade study calculated Palestinians' calories


Read more: blockade, import, export, closure, calories, malnutrition, Gisha, human rights, consumption

JERUSALEM, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Israel calculated the number of calories Palestinians would need to avoid malnutrition under its blockade of the Gaza Strip, according to a study which the Supreme Court forced the government to release.

It was part of a research paper that came up in two discussions and that we never made use of, Defense Ministry official Guy Inbar said on Wednesday after the document was published by Gisha, an Israeli human rights group that petitioned to receive it.

Release of the document, presented in January 2008, shed new light on the thinking that helped to shape the blockade that Israel tightened in 2007 after the Gaza Strip was seized by the Hamas Islamist movement.

Palestinians described the restrictions, which drew international criticism and were eased in 2010, as collective punishment stifling their economy.

The study, Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip - The Red Lines, estimated the required daily calorie intake in the territory at 2,279 per person.

The document said that in order to maintain the basic fabric of life in the area, Israel would allow in 106 trucks with food and other essential goods every day. Gisha said some 400 trucks delivered goods to Gaza before the blockade.

Last week Israel delivered 935 truckloads of basic goods and construction material to the territory which has a population of 1.6 million.

The calorie calculation was based on a model formulated by Israel's Health Ministry and was largely in line with average Israeli consumption. According to Britain's National Health Service, the average man needs 2,500 calories to maintain his weight and a woman requires 2,000.

Wikileaks has published diplomatic cables that showed Israel told U.S. officials in 2008 it would keep Gaza's economy on the brink of collapse while avoiding a humanitarian crisis.

To circumvent the blockade, Palestinians have brought in tons of goods through smuggling tunnels dug under Gaza's border with Egypt.
WHAT'S NEW


BACKGROUND


POLLS


WAYS TO GET JMCC


CONTACT US


Subscribe

Al-Madaris St. (same building as
MBC and al-Arabiya studios)
First Floor, Al-Bireh
PO Box 4045, Ramallah
PO Box 25047, Jerusalem 97300
Phone: ++972-2-297-6555
Fax: ++972-2-297-6555
Log in to My JMCC
Email
Password
 or Sign Up
Forgot your password?Close
 My JMCC
Front Page
My Comments Photo of the Day
Calendar Hot Spot(for journalists)
Audio of the Day Video of the Day
Most Popular Historical Timeline
Noticeboard Blogs
My Tags Help Desk
  
User Info
First Name
Last Name
Email
My Tags 
I am a
After signing up,you will receive
an automatically
generated password in your
email.
Close
Recover Password
Submit Your Email
 or Sign Up
Close