



TOKYO: Around 100 demonstrators gathered in front of the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday to denounce the blockade and siege of the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel.
Several organizations and individuals supporting the Palestinian people said Israel must not deprive the 2.3 million people in Gaza of water, food and electricity.
The Israeli Defense Minister had said earlier there would be a complete siege in Gaza that would deprive the people there of these necessities.
Protesters lit candles and held up signs as they chanted slogans calling for an end to the occupation and a boycott of Israel.
Several Japanese supporting the Palestinian cause told Arab News Japan they had made humanitarian trips to Jenin and other places in Palestine to refugee camps for book and theater projects.
They said they were worried about the situation and the people there.
UN human rights representative Volker Turk was reported as saying that the imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential to their survival is prohibited by international humanitarian law.