Geneva - The International Criminal Court should investigate Israel and its leaders over the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, a United Nations expert said Tuesday.

In a statement, Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the civilian population in Gaza was "being collectively punished by policies that amount to a Crime Against Humanity."

The international court should "determine whether the Israeli civilian leaders and military commanders responsible for the Gaza siege should be indicted and prosecuted for violations of international criminal law."

Falk said Israel was only allowing into Gaza small amounts of food and fuel in quantities enough to "stave off mass famine and disease."

He also pointed a finger at governments who were "complicit by continuing their support politically and economically for Israel's punitive approach."

Falk accused Israel of being at fault for the deterioration last month of a ceasefire with the militant Hamas movement, which rules the coastal enclave, for failing to "fulfill its obligation under the agreement to improve the living conditions of the people of Gaza."

An Jewish-American law professor, Falk was appointed to his post earlier this year by the UN's Human Rights Council. He had previously compared Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories with those of the Nazis during World War II, infuriating the Jewish State. (dpa)