Hamas to file complaint against Israel to International Criminal Court

Hamas, the Islamist group ruling the coastal enclave of the Gaza Strip, is planning to file a complaint to the International Criminal Court against Israel, describing it as an "occupation entity" which has committed crimes against the Palestinian people.

"We are in a comprehensive battle with a criminal, colonial, settler occupation, which includes all arenas and fields, and the legal battle is one of the most important tools, because the occupation depends for its survival on military force and international support and cover," Huda Naim, the head of human rights committee in the Hamas-run Palestinian Legislative Council in  Gaza, said in a press statement sent to The New Arab.

French lawyer Gilles Duvier is scheduled to present the complaint by the deputies of Hamas to the International Criminal Court related to the occupation's war crimes as a result of the 17-year siege on the Gaza Strip, according to Naim.

"Approaching to the International Criminal Court comes as part of the legal and parliamentary diplomatic efforts undertaken by the Legislative Council and its deputies, to criminalize the Israeli occupation for its grave violations against the Palestinian people, especially the crime of blockade, and its flagrant violations of laws and charters. International," Naim said.

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"There is a great need to exert every effort to strengthen the Palestinian narrative, reveal the fascist truth of the occupation, and expose its crimes to international public opinion," she said. "The Palestinian deputies in Gaza submitted a complaint to the International Criminal Court in regards to the crime of blockade, as a war crime and a crime against humanity, in accordance with the Rome Statute, and are demanding the condemnation of the occupation and provide compensation for the heavy losses from the blockade, as documented by international human rights organisations." 

"We realize that the occupation exerts pressure and blackmail over international justice centres to escape accountability and punishment. This does not absolve these international institutions from their responsibilities and the scope of their competencies," she added. "Even if we did not reach an actual condemnation of the occupation, filing lawsuits narrows the occupation's capabilities, contributes to exposing its narrative and limits its political and diplomatic activity against us."

Naim noted that international law, resolutions, and international reports support the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian right, and this complaint is built on those findings. She further stressed that "the problem is the imbalance of power in favour of the occupation and its allies."

"We expect, in light of the developments that we are witnessing at the international level in the rearrangement of the international system in favour of multipolarity instead of a unipolar leadership biased towards the criminal, that there will be an opportunity in the near future to impose decisions on everyone without exception, as well as respect for international laws," she opined.

More than two million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, suffering from poverty, as a result of the continuous Israeli blockade for 17 years.

Leading human rights groups such as Amnesty International and sections of the UN have described Israel's occupation as a crime of apartheid.