Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK today called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the flooding of the border between Gaza and Egypt and the closure of the Rafah crossing.

AOHR UK submitted two communications to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC inviting the prosecutor to investigate and prosecute both the deliberate infiltration of seawater into Gaza’s territory and the closure of the Rafah crossing.

The organisation said both acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity and are therefore under ICC jurisdiction.

An ICC investigation could “serve to loosen what are effectively siege conditions in Gaza, and consequently, change the lives of the 1.8 million citizens of Gaza,” AOHR UK explained.

Toby Cadman, International Criminal Law expert and head of legal team advising AOHR, notes, the Egyptian policy in the border constitutes “a clear violation of the laws of war and shows evident criminal features”.

(MEMO)