Outrage as Pro-Israel UK Lobby Suggests Gaza Starvation Could Combat Obesity

Watan-The Guardian published a report by legal affairs correspondent Haroon Siddiqui, revealing that a UK-based pro-Israel lobbying group, British Lawyers for Israel, suggested that starvation in Gaza might be a way to combat obesity—allegedly widespread before the war.

Chris Doyle mocked the claim: “Israel is merciful for imposing a forced diet on 2.3 million Palestinians to reduce obesity!” The comments came as Israel continues to impose a suffocating siege and man-made famine in Gaza, with talk of another Israeli military operation pushing residents into a narrow zone between the Mediterranean and Egypt.

Jonathan Turner, executive director of the group, made the remarks in response to a motion expected at the Co-operative Group’s annual meeting calling for a halt to the sale of Israeli products. The board urged removal of the motion, particularly disputing the claim that the death toll in Gaza had reached 186,000.

Turner rejected that number as “entirely false and misleading,” citing a Lancet study that included both direct and indirect deaths due to war, hunger, and disease. He added that the Lancet message ignored “health factors that could increase life expectancy in Gaza, including a reduction in obesity”—one of the so-called health problems pre-war.

British Lawyers for Israel is known for aggressively defending Israel in legal forums and targeting critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Gaza war. Its patrons include former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard, ex-Supreme Court Justice John Dyson, and barrister David Pannick. The comments were condemned by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which called them “disgusting.”

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, over 52,000 people have died in the war. The Lancet found that life expectancy in Gaza has dropped by 34.9 years—almost halved—from 75.5 years to just under 40.

Chris Doyle, head of CAABU (Council for Arab-British Understanding), added on X: “These comments reflect grotesque thinking—claiming Israel is compassionate by imposing a forced diet on 2.3 million people.”

In another incident, a branch of British Lawyers for Israel in Chelsea led a campaign to remove an image of a Palestinian child from Westminster Hospital, claiming it made Jewish patients feel unsafe.

Meanwhile, the UK government faces a potential lawsuit over its suspension of 30 arms export licenses to Israel.

Turner defended his remarks, claiming they were “accurate and factual,” arguing that The Lancet’s claim of 186,000 projected deaths was speculative and overlooked Gaza’s pre-war health conditions like sugar and cigarette consumption.

These statements mirror past Israeli policy that calculated Palestinians’ daily calorie needs under siege while denying any food shortage existed.