Even before the war, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the blockade amounted to collective punishment of the civilian population.
In addition, Maher is accused of ordering the indiscriminate mass punishment of the entire male population of a troublesome town, al-Moudamya, last year.
The shadow minister described the situation in in the Middle East as "day in day out a punishment of the entire Palestinian population".
Another fragile ceasefire, Hamas retains control of Gaza, Israel retains its blockade against Hamas and by extension its collective punishment of the Gazan civilian population and Hamas continues to be boycotted internationally.
But we are also acting consistently with the policy advocated by 65% of American Jews in March 2009: no to "collective punishment of the entire Palestinian population".
In the 2009 poll, 65% of American Jews agreed with the statement, Israel has the right to defend itself, but it must also take into account humanitarian considerations and avoid collective punishment of the entire Palestinian population by closing the borders and causing major civilian hardship.
The Yemeni diaspora described the situation as collective punishment, with the population being punished for the actions of the rebels.
The Social Security Advisory Committee is concerned that such state punishment will mean a sector of the population becomes completely dislocated from mainstream society, living like creatures at the very bottom of the dark depths of the sea.
Not long after the Gaza invasion we spoke to the head of a human rights organisation there who told us that the Israelis were refusing enough chemicals to adequately treat the civilian water supply; a clear example of vindictive collective punishment delivered to one half of the population.
The commission rejected arguments that the blockade, together with the restrictions on movement through the overland crossings, constituted collective punishment of Gaza's population, saying that Israel let in goods "essential for the survival of the civilian population".
