Unlike Foes, Israel Stupidly Not Starving Its Enemies

“It’s more than a little puzzling that such a potent, proven tactic is simply not part of the Israeli military toolbox,” observed Jordanian General Krosmiya Naqilya.

A man in Madaya, Syria

Tel Aviv, January 10 – Defense experts noted with some surprise today the fact that Israel’s military and security apparatus, for some undetermined reason, does not use the deprivation of food and water as a tactic to overcome opposition, even though such an approach would be both effective and in keeping with norms of behavior in the region.

While Syrian, Hezbollah, and Iranian forces besiege the rebel-held city of Madaya in Syria, reducing its population to living skeletons, and while Iran-backed Houthis apply similar tactics to the Yemeni city of Ta’az, Israeli military forces have seldom, if ever, used hunger as a weapon against its numerous foes. This trend persists, say the defense experts, despite the obvious effectiveness of starvation in weakening the opposition and either eliminating it as a threat or enabling its destruction.

“It’s more than a little puzzling that such a potent, proven tactic is simply not part of the Israeli military toolbox,” observed Jordanian General Krosmiya Naqilya. “It’s a no-brainer for the rest of us in the region: ISIS, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran – we even used the pressures of starvation against the Jewish parts of Jerusalem in 1947 and 48. But for some reason – and I’d love to have this explained to me – the Israelis don’t even disrupt the supply of electricity, fuel, and other necessities when Arabs are firing at them.” He shook his head.

Naqilya referred to the continuous stream of trucks carrying medicine, food, and other supplies even during the summer 2014 conflict with Hamas. “The irony is that people keep railing against Israel’s blockade s a ‘siege’ when there are genuine sieges going on not so far from here.” He mentioned the Yazidi communities beset by ISIS forces, a plight that prompted even the reluctant Obama administration to organize food drops last year.

Other experts noted that the supply of food and other necessities is not characteristic only of Israel’s military, but of its civilian security entities as well. “If you look at the photos of Assad’s prisoners, or those of nearly anyone else in the Middle East, you’ll see wisps, emaciated beings,” explained Preshiç Morsl, a Turkish defense analyst. “Then take a gander at Samir Kuntar, the child-killer who spent more than twenty years in Israeli prisons, when he was released: a fat bastard. The only people in Israeli prisons going hungry are the ones on hunger strikes – as if a hunger strike in a prison anywhere else in the region would mean anything. It’s as if those Jews don’t know what a prison is for.”