Suing Biden, Blinken and Austin in California court for "complicity in Israeli genocide"
A federal court in Oakland, California, held a hearing yesterday in which the US president and several senior officials of his administration were charged with "complicity in the genocide of Israel in the Gaza Strip."
The plaintiffs want the US federal court to use its influence to force Israel to end its military operations in Gaza. Biden's lawyers, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attended Friday's hearing in federal court in California. The plaintiffs against them were the human rights organization Protect the Children of Palestine (CCR) and a number of American Palestinians who lost loved ones in Gaza. They accuse the US authorities of "failure to prevent the genocide of Palestinians organized by the Israeli government, and even complicity in it." CCR also calls on the US to use its influence with Israel to stop fighting against Palestinians in Gaza. Human rights activists argue that by supplying weapons to Israel, the Americans are violating the 1948 Genocide Convention. Al Jazeera also reported that Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin were charged with “failure to prevent Israeli actions and complicity in open genocide.” The court heard comments from lawyers, activists, organizers, including doctors in the Gaza Strip, about the situation of Palestinians over several months. CCR's lawsuit was first filed in November 2023 and notes that Biden, Blinken and Austin "not only failed to live up to their obligations to prevent genocide, but also created the conditions for its expansion by providing unconditional military and diplomatic support to Israel." CCR claims that the United States is violating the 1948 Genocide Convention by supplying weapons to occupied territories, Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reported.