Documents whose existence were denied by the "Israeli" government for over a year have been released after a legal battle led by "Israeli" human rights group Gisha.

The documents posted on the Gisha Website reveal a deliberate policy by the "Israeli" government in which the dietary needs for the population of Gaza are chillingly calculated, and the amounts of food let in by the "Israeli" government measured to remain just enough to keep the population alive at a near-starvation level.

This documents the statement made by a number of "Israeli" officials that they are "putting the people of Gaza on a diet".

In 2007, when "Israel" began its full siege on Gaza, Dov Weisglass, adviser to then Prime-Minister Ehud Olmert, stated clearly, "The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger." The documents now released contain equations used by the "Israeli" government to calculate the exact amounts of food, fuel and other necessities needed to do exactly that.

The documents are even more disturbing, say human rights activists, when one considers the fact that close to half of the people of Gaza are children under the age of eighteen.

This implies that "Israel" has deliberately forced the undernourishment of hundreds of thousands of children in direct violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

This release of documents also severely undermines "Israel's" oft-made claim that the siege is "for security reasons", as it documents a deliberate and systematic policy of collective punishment of the entire population of Gaza.

Gisha's director said, in relation to the release of documents, ""Israel" banned glucose for biscuits and the fuel needed for regular supply of electricity - paralyzing normal life in Gaza and impairing the moral character of the State of "Israel". I am sorry to say that major elements of this policy are still in place."