The Israeli military made precise calculations of Gaza's daily
calorie needs to avoid malnutrition during a blockade imposed on the
Palestinian territory between 2007 and mid-2010, according to files the
defence ministry released on Wednesday under a court order.
Israel
says it never limited how many calories were available to Gaza, but
critics claimed the document was proof the government limited food
supplies to put pressure on Hamas.
At the height of the blockade Israel also maintained a list of foods that were permitted and banned from Gaza.
Major
Guy Inbar, an Israeli military spokesman, said the calculation, based
on a person's average requirement of 2,300 calories a day, was meant to
identify warning signs to help avoid a humanitarian crisis, and that it
was never used to restrict the flow of food.
The analysis included
adjustments for local farm products as well as an assessment of the
kinds of food imports needed to sustain the population.
The
Israeli advocacy group Gisha, which aims to protect the rights of
Palestinian residents, waged a long court battle to release the
document. Its members say Israel calculated the calorie needs for Gaza's
population so as to restrict the quantity of food it allowed in.
A boy in south Gaza at
the time the UN ran out of Palestinian food supplies in 2008 after
Israel blocked deliveries. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
