"In early 2006, Dov Weisglass, then a senior advisor to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, explained that Israeli policy was designed “to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” In 2012 it was revealed that in early 2008 Israeli authorities drew up a document calculating the minimum caloric intake necessary for Palestinians to avoid malnutrition so Israel could limit the amount of foodstuffs allowed into Gaza without causing outright starvation"
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"Israel's policy was summed up by Dov Weisglass, an adviser to Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, earlier this year. 'The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger,' he said. The hunger pangs are supposed to encourage the Palestinians to force Hamas to change its attitude towards Israel or force Hamas out of government."
The end of Western funding and Israel's crossing closure sharpen Palestinian divisions, reports Conal Urquhart in Gaza City.
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'However, an Israeli official has conceded to the BBC that the attitude when compiling a catalogue of allowed items into Gaza - cinnamon was allowed, for example, while coriander was not - may not have been rational.
"We never understood why the Ministry of Defence actually forbade coriander to enter Gaza," Israeli Foreign Ministry Yigal Palmor told the BBC's Newshour programme.
"It did reflect some kind of petty interference with items that seemed of little note."'
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Gisha says the research contradicts Israel's assertions that the blockade is needed for security reasons.
"How can Israel claim that it is not responsible for civilian life in Gaza when it controls even the type and quantity of food that Palestinian residents of Gaza are permitted to consume?" asked Sari Bashi, Gisha's executive director, in a statement.
"Israel's control over movement creates an obligation to allow free passage of civilians and civilian goods, subject only to security checks - an obligation that remains unfulfilled today."
Robert Turner, director of operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) for Palestine refugees, said: "If this reflects an authentic policy intended to cap food imports, this 'red lines' document is contrary to humanitarian principles."'
An Israeli court forces the release of government research detailing the number of calories Palestinians in Gaza needed to consume to avoid malnutrition during Israel’s blockade.
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