Scottish Palestinian says aid block in Gaza aims to 'bring people to their knees'
Wael Shawish, 65, who was born in east Jerusalem and is now based in Glasgow in Scotland, said the latest move from Israel is not surprising to Palestinians.
Israel has stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip and has warned of 'additional consequences' if Hamas does not accept a new proposal for a ceasefire extension.
A Hamas spokesperson said blocking supplies to Gaza was 'cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack on the (ceasefire) agreement'.
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Shawish, a retired business analyst, said starving Palestinians is the 'last part of the equation' for Israel.
'Nothing is surprising us. As far as what Israel does, they are trying very hard to bring everybody to their knees,' Shawish told the PA news agency.
'I don't mean just the fighters and Hamas. I think even the people who have lost their homes, lost their businesses, lost their livelihood, their schools, universities, hospitals, they must now bring the people to their knees.
'Starving them is the last part of the equation.'
The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday.
The two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas is expected to release dozens of remaining hostages in return for a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Israel has said it supports a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which began during the weekend, and the Jewish Passover holiday which ends on April 20.
It said the proposal came from the Trump administration's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Shawish said that despite this most recent challenge the people of Palestine will prevail.
'That's what the West and the Israelis can't understand is that the resistance is there, the will to stay is there,' he said.
Shawish (below), who came to study in the UK aged 20, was unable to return to his home in east Jerusalem when he finished his studies.
(Image: PA Wires)
He has now spent the last 45 years living 'in exile' in the UK.
'They didn't push me on a boat. They didn't push me on a truck or a bus or I wasn't made to walk over the border. They just closed the door behind me,' he said.
'There are hundreds of thousands of people like me.'
Shawish, who is a member of the Scottish Palestinian Society, said that he has found community and support from other Palestinians in Glasgow.
'Everybody is so traumatised. I feel like I'm in a long field of wounded people trying to fix who I can fix. That's how it feels being in Glasgow,' he said.
'Most people that I know have lost family or friends or it's difficult to even console them.
'Someone has lost every member of her family. She is now a sole member in this world.'
Hamas's October 7 2023 attack killed around 1200 people while another 251 were taken hostage.
Since then, Israel's military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
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