Doha, Qatar: The Doha-based Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI) has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Arab League to hold the Israeli occupation to account for its violation of international humanitarian law and stop its schemes aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause.
Secretary-General of ANNHRI Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali said that ANNHRI has addressed the Prosecutor of the ICC, along with the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit on this matter, adding that ICC has immediately responded to ANNHRI’s message and submitted it to the office concerned.
ANNHRI has called on the Prosecutor of the ICC to issue an urgent preemptive statement about the war crimes in the Gaza Strip with the urgent intervention to put an end to the persistent violations and crimes in the Gaza Strip, where simmering humanitarian crisis and war crimes threaten the life of the civilian population, Al Jamali said.
In addition, ANNHRI delivered the deep concern of its member national institutions to the prosecutor over the escalating situation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli measures caused a dire humanitarian disaster, he added. He pointed to that the recent threats unleashed by the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to cut off electricity and prevent access of essential supplies such as food and fuel pose a major threat to the life of the population in Gaza.
ANNHRI called on the ICC to immediately halt the measures of cutting off electricity, drinking water, as well as medical supplies and equipment to prevent further suffering and loss of lives, Al Jamali pointed out, noting that the address, in question, underscored that such a situation caused a humanitarian disaster that requires immediate attention and intervention, especially that over two million people in Gaza are in desperate need of help.
ANNHRI has called for taking a preemptive measure immediately in the form of a statement from the Prosecutor of the ICC on the war crimes being perpetrated by Israel, in addition to thoroughly studying the acts and threats unleashed by the Israeli Minister of Defense in the context of the international humanitarian law.
In the message addressed to ICC, ANNHRI outlined that depriving people of electricity, food, water and gas as part of an all-out siege of Gaza not only constitutes a violation of international law but also a dangerous violation of the fundamental principles of humanity, stressing that such acts are extremely detrimental to the innocent civilians and it is a moral and legal duty to prevent these crimes and subsequently address them.
In a related context, the ANNHRI Secretary-General confirmed that ANNHRI addressed the Secretary-General of the Arab League to clarify the outcomes of the emergency meeting ANNHRI held last Wednesday in the aftermath of the circumstances Palestine is going through that range from a dangerous attack to a new level of Israeli criminality, for the sake of putting the member institutions into spotlight regarding what is happening in Palestine.
He said ANNHRI is coordinating the efforts for the joint action of human rights institutions to stop the violations perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against international humanitarian law and hold it accountable for its crimes, as well as thwart its plans aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause. The meeting brought together all members of the national human rights institutions in 17 Arab states.
