BBC News reports: An Israeli court has forced the release of government research detailing the number of calories Palestinians in Gaza need to consume to avoid malnutrition.

The study was commissioned after Israel tightened its blockade of the territory after Hamas came to power in June 2007.

The UN said if the research reflected a policy intended to cap food imports, it went against humanitarian principles.

But the Israeli government said the study was only ever a draft and was never used to determine policy.
‘Daily humanitarian portion’

The Israeli human rights group Gisha, which campaigns against Israel’s Gaza blockade, fought a long legal battle to get the Israeli ministry of defence to release this document.

Dated from 2008 and entitled, “Food Consumption in the Gaza Strip – The Red Lines“, it is a detailed study of how many calories Palestinians needed to eat to avoid malnutrition.