Palestinian human rights organizations, together with Palestinians in Gaza and in the US, have sued President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. On January 26, a federal court heard arguments in the case Defense for Children International – Palestine v. Biden, which seeks an emergency court order to halt US support for Israel’s war on Gaza, prohibiting the transfer of weapons and unconditional support to the Zionist state.
The case was filed on the plaintiff’s behalf by the Center for Constitutional Rights with the law firm of Van Der Hout, LLP. “Our plaintiffs’ testimonies today demonstrate just how urgent it is for the Biden administration to finally do what they and the vast majority of the people of the world have demanded: stop sending weapons to enable Israel’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians in besieged Gaza and instead uphold its clear legal duty to end, not further, genocide,” argued Katherine Gallagher, a senior attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, in court on Janaury 26.
Plaintiffs in the case include human rights organizations Defense for Children International — Palestine (DCIP) and Al Haq. Individual plaintiffs include Palestinians who are still residing in Gaza, those who have had family members killed by Israel’s US-made weapons, as well as those who have been displaced from their homes multiple times. These plaintiffs include Ahmed Abu Artema, who lives with his family in the area that Israel instructed those living in the north of Gaza to go to for safety. On October 24, Israel killed Abu Artema’s 12-year-old son in an airstrike. Many of his relatives have also been killed or injured in Israeli attacks.
“These are times of genocide, and we desperately need a US court to intervene. So much hangs in the balance. Today, Palestinians spoke out in court and made a powerful case for why a preliminary injunction is necessary: we are hopeful the judge will agree with us and issue an order soon,” said Ayman Nijim, another plaintiff in the case, during testimony on January 26.
Experts also submitted amicus briefs and declarations in the case, including Josh Paul, former high ranking State Department official who resigned in protest against US military aid to Israel, as well as William Schabas, global expert on genocide, and leading organization in the Palestine solidarity movement, Jewish Voice for Peace.
Dr. Barry Trachtenberg, a genocide and Holocaust scholar, also testified, saying, “Israel’s assault on Gaza has been funded by the American people, fought with U.S.-supplied weapons, and encouraged by a complicit White House… Unlike past genocides, which were adjudicated long after they had concluded, we have an opportunity to halt this one in its tracks. Palestinians have suffered far too much and for far too long.”
Plaintiffs hope that the hearing results in “a preliminary injunction to stop the flow of weapons for Israel’s genocide,” said Gallagher.
