The mental anguish of the civilians who suffered the assault is so great that the entire population of Gaza could be seen as casualties, said Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel’s senseless war on Gaza left at least 1,300 people dead, mostly children and women. 5,000 were also injured in the war, many of them maimed for life.
The Israeli army even targeted hospitals and UN-run schools and aid centers where people were hiding.
Falk said compelling evidence that Israel's actions in Gaza violated international humanitarian law required an independent investigation into whether they amounted to war crimes.
"I believe that there is the prima facie case for reaching that conclusion," he told a Geneva news conference via phone from his home in California.
He said Israel had made no effort to allow civilians to escape the fighting.
"To lock people into a war zone is something that evokes the worst kind of international memories of the Warsaw Ghetto, and sieges that occur unintentionally during a period of wartime," Falk, who is Jewish, said.
Falk was referring to the starvation and murder of Warsaw's Jews by Nazi Germany in World War Two.
"There could have been temporary provision at least made for children, disabled, sick civilians to leave, even if where they left to was southern Israel," the U.S. professor said.
Falk said the entire Gaza population, which had been trapped in a war zone with no possibility to leave as refugees, may have been mentally scarred for life. If so, the definition of casualty could be extended to the entire civilian population.
Falk, who was denied entry to Israel two weeks before the assault started on Dec. 27, dismissed Israel's argument that the assault was for self-defense in the light of rocket attacks aimed at Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
"In my view the UN charter, and international law, does not give Israel the legal foundation for claiming self-defense," he said.
Israel had not restricted fighting to areas where the rockets came from and had refused to negotiate with Hamas, preventing a diplomatic solution, Falk said.
Physicians for Human Rights say Israeli army impeded “emergency medical evacuation of the sick and wounded” during its blitz on Gaza.
The Amnesty International accused Tel Aviv of war crimes for its indiscriminate use of white phosphorus shells in Gaza.
Meanwhile, a report posted on website of the Haaretz newspaper said that Israel has learned that London will not push through changes in legislation that permits the arrest of Israeli officers visiting Britain on war crimes, as previously promised.
In an unofficial message to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Britain said that as a result of the decline in Israel's public image following the war on Gaza the government believes it will be unable to pass the amendment to the legislation before next year's scheduled elections.
British law permits private citizens to press charges against foreigners on war crimes charges. Once an indictment has been issued suspects can be arrested if they enter Britain.
In 2005 Maj. Gen. Doron Almog flew to London for a brief visit. After being informed, while still on the plane, that police were waiting for him to disembark so that they could arrest him, Almog remained on the aircraft and returned to Israel.
An arrest warrant had been issued against him for his role in the razing of Palestinian homes in Rafah.
Since that incident, senior Israeli officers in both active and reserve service, including former chiefs of staff and cabinet ministers Ehud Barak and Shaul Mofaz, have avoided traveling to Britain.
In early March Iranian Chief Prosecutor Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dori-Najafabadi charged 29 senior Israeli officials with committing war crimes during the 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Mossad chief Meir Dagan, Chief of the General Staff of the IDF Gabi Ashkenazi, and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz were the highest ranking Israeli officials charged with war crimes.
The charges against the Israeli officials include aggression, occupation, threatening regional and international peace and security, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and clear and repeated violations of human rights and international law.
PA/PA
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MNA
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