UN rights chief ‘shocked and appalled’ by Smotrich’s suggestion that starving Gazans would be justified

UN rights chief Volker Turk is “shocked and appalled” by comments by Israel’s finance minister suggesting it might be “justified” to starve the population of Gaza to free hostages, his spokesman says.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights “condemns these words in the strongest terms, which also incite hatred against innocent civilians,” his spokesman Jeremy Laurence tells a press conference.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stoked controversy earlier this week, telling a conference: “Nobody will let us cause two million civilians to die of hunger, even though it might be justified and moral until our hostages are returned,” he said.

“We are bringing in humanitarian aid because we have no choice. We are in a situation that requires international legitimacy to conduct this war,” Smotrich said.

Turk’s spokesman tells reporters that “the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.

“This direct and public statement risks inciting other atrocity crimes. Such statements, especially by public officials, must cease immediately, they must be investigated and if found to amount to a crime, must be prosecuted and punished,” Laurence says.

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.