US court to listen to case on Biden's complicity in Gaza genocide

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Times
26 Jan 2024 17:42
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Following an ICJ order demanding "Israel" halt all military action that aligns with genocide, a US federal court will listen to a case accusing Biden and two other top US officials of facilitating Israeli acts of genocide.

Pro-Palestine protesters hold a march against the Biden administration's role in facilitating the Israeli war on Gaza on Black Friday, November 24, 2023, in Los Angeles, California, the United States. (AP)

A scheduled hearing for a case accusing US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of complicity in Israeli against of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be commenced on Friday.

A US federal court in Oakland, California, will move forward with the hearing, on January 26, 2024, just after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered "Israel" to adhere to several actions, including the cessation of military action that aligns with genocide.

Several Palestinian human rights groups and individuals filed the case with the help of the nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights. The case, Defense for Children International- Palestine v. Biden, seeks to halt US aid and support to "Israel's" war on the Gaza Strip, which has cost those filing the case the lives of family members.

"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," Mohammad Herzallah, a plaintiff in the case who has family in Gaza, said as quoted by The Times.

Plaintiffs such as Mohammad hope that the case will contribute to stopping the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Biden admin seeks to shut the case down

Despite domestic pressure building up against these actions, the Biden administration seeks to dismiss the case filed in the US federal court, according to The Times.

The top-ranking US officials in the case argue that the lawsuit raises fundamental political questions. They contend that the plaintiffs are seeking the court's intervention in overseeing the foreign policy and national security decisions made by the country's Executive Branch. The defendants claim that these issues are quintessentially political in nature, as they involve the court supervising the executive's judgment in matters of foreign policy and national security, an argument that has shut down multiple similar cases.

Moreover, the US government argues that the plaintiffs lacked jurisdiction to file a complaint regarding the US official's breach of The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, saying that the Genocide Convention does not "create a private right of action."

Possible results of Friday's hearing

On the other hand, if the prosecution leads a successful hearing today, the US federal court will issue a preliminary injunction that will force the US government to "take all measures within their power to prevent Israel from committing genocide."

The legal foundation for the case relies, in part, on the 1948 Genocide Convention, a treaty signed by the US and 151 other states and the Israeli entity. The convention obligates signatories to refrain from committing genocide, as well as to punish and prevent such acts. The US has ratified the treaty and is therefore obligated to upkeep it.

US officials, including John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, have previously rejected genocide allegations against "Israel", deeming them "unfounded" during a press briefing on January 11.

They also claim that the plaintiffs have not sufficiently demonstrated a direct link between their alleged injuries and US support for "Israel", although the US has been the main supplier of bombs, missiles, and shells to the Israeli occupation forces.

Unwavering support shakes US' reputation

The blowback from the Biden administration's "unwavering" military and political aid to the Israeli occupation is beginning to surface following the recent ICJ order. This ruling has brought up several potential drawbacks and pitfalls that the US and other backers may suffer for supporting Israeli acts of genocide.

However, Biden's administration has failed to acknowledge the genocidal nature of multiple Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip, over a 112-day-long stretch, and has surfaced with asking the Israeli occupation to do better when and kill fewer civilians. US representatives in the United National Security Council have also shot down multiple resolutions calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, using Washington's veto power. The US has also mobilized its Navy and military capabilities to strike Yemen after the nation launched a military campaign in support of the Palestinian people.