Palestinians sue Biden for failure to prevent genocide in Gaza
San Francisco, California - Palestinians have launched a new lawsuit against US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin over their role in Israel's siege of Gaza.
Biden, Blinken, and Austin stand accused in US federal court of enabling Israel's ongoing assault through the provision of weapons, funds, and diplomatic cover, the Center for Constitutional Rights announced on Monday.
The 1948 Genocide Convention classifies complicity in genocide, or the intentional destruction of a people in whole or in part, as a crime under international law and requires states to take measures to prevent such atrocities.
Over the past five weeks, Israel has killed more than 11,000 Gazans – most of them women and children – and displaced 1.5 million more. The Israeli military has targeted civilian infrastructure, deployed chemical weapons, and deprived Palestinians of basic necessities, all while blocking the transfer of humanitarian aid.
"To be honest, it's difficult to revisit all the scenes of the past weeks. They open a door to hell when I recall them," Dr. Omar Al-Najjar, a 24-year-old intern physician at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis and a plaintiff in the case, said in a press release. "I've lost five relatives, treated too many children who are the sole survivors of their families, received the bodies of my fellow medical students and their families, and seen the hospital turn into a shelter for tens of thousands of people as we all run out of fuel, electricity, food, and water.
"The US has to stop this genocide. Everyone in the world has to stop this."
Courts urged to step in to protect Palestinian lives
The US government has provided more than $150 billion in taxpayer monies to Israel to date, not adjusting for inflation.
In recent weeks, Americans across the country have turned out in huge numbers for a ceasefire and an end to US funding for Israeli occupation.
Biden and his administration have yet to indicate willingness to engage in ceasefire negotiations despite overwhelming popular support. Instead, the president and other US officials have reiterated their unconditional backing of the Israeli government, even as Gazans struggle to survive nightmare conditions – with no end to their suffering in sight.
Israel has claimed that its brutal actions in Gaza are necessary to root out Hamas. Legal experts cited in the new lawsuit counter that the Hamas military wing's October 7 attacks, which left 1,200 Israelis dead, do not justify the indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians.
Prominent Israeli officials have, meanwhile, intensified fears of genocidal intent by referring to Palestinians as "human animals" and promising to "eliminate everything."
With so many lives on the line, the team behind the lawsuit believes no stone should remain unturned in the fight for justice and liberation.
"We have lost so many people, but there are still many more who are living, and we owe it to them to do everything possible to stop this genocide," said Mohammad Herzallah, one of the US-based plaintiffs who has family in Gaza.
"I have done everything in my power: I have participated in protests, sit-ins, wrote letters to my representatives, civil disobedience. Now I am asking the courts to end this ongoing genocide," he added.
Cover photo: REUTERS