Palestinian Authority legislators have submitted an official complaint to the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Israel over the partial blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The complaint states that the "unjust" siege imposed on the Gaza Strip constitutes a "war crime" and a "crime against humanity" according to international laws and conventions.
The initiators of the complaint presented the move as their sacred national, legal, and humanitarian duty as part of the efforts to delegitimize and isolate Israel and demand that its leaders be brought to justice for their "crimes."
The members of the PA parliament called on the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court not to give in to Israeli pressure to escape "justice" and to act immediately "in accordance with the principles and laws of the court."
Israel has maintained a partial blockade on the Gaza Strip since the coastal enclave was taken over by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish State and the genocide of the Jewish people. Humanitarian goods are allowed into Gaza, while military and dual-use items are restricted. Thousands of Gazans also receive permits to enter Israel for the purpose of employment.
In 2010, a UN investigative committee found that Israel's blockade of Gaza was legal given the state of war with the Hamas terrorist organization and under the principle of self-defense.
The government of Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, also maintains a blockade of the enclave but is not named in the PA complaint.