In a momentous day for holding Israel and its allies accountable for the brutal war on Gaza, members of leading Palestinian human rights groups, Gaza residents, and Palestinian Americans argued in a U.S. District Court on Friday that the Biden administration should cease its financial and military support for Israel and uphold its obligations to prevent genocide.
The arguments arose in a lawsuitOpens in a new tab filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in November against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. They are charged with complicity and failure to prevent the "unfolding genocide" in the occupied strip. Testifying either in person at the Oakland, California courthouse or remotely from Palestine, the plaintiffs spoke for nearly three hours about the deliberate devastation caused by Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The hearing began hours after the International Court of Justice in The Hague found it plausible that Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza, as presented by South Africa. While the United Nations court stopped short of ordering an immediate ceasefire, a panel of judges delivered a historic set of rulings, denying Israel's request to dismiss the case. A final resolution in that case is expected to take years.
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