A United States federal court has dismissed a case accusing President Joe Biden and other senior US officials of being involved in Israel's purported genocide in Gaza.
However, the federal court urged Biden and his colleagues to examine "the results of their unflagging support" for Israel, including its human rights implications.
US District Court Judge Jeffrey White dismissed the case late on Wednesday on procedural grounds, citing the US Constitution's division of powers. He declared in his ruling that disagreements about foreign policy are political issues that are not subject to the courts and are, therefore, outside of his purview.
"There are rare cases in which the preferred outcome is inaccessible to the Court. This is one of those cases. The Court is bound by precedent and the division of our coordinate branches of government to abstain from exercising jurisdiction in this matter," he wrote.
However, White noted that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said in a provisional verdict last month, "It is plausible that Israel's conduct amounts to genocide."
"This Court implores Defendants to examine the results of their unflagging support of the military siege against the Palestinians in Gaza," he continued.
The lawsuit was filed as pressure mounted on the Biden administration to end the US's unwavering support for Israel in its war on Gaza, which has claimed the lives of more than 27,000 Palestinians since early October.
Human rights organizations and individual Palestinians affected by the conflict filed the complaint late last year. They accused Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of failing to fulfill their responsibilities under international and domestic law to prevent genocide.
The lawsuit claimed that the US must exercise its clear and considerable influence on Israel, which provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid annually.
Furthermore, it cited "dehumanizing" remarks by senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, to illustrate an intent to carry out the "erasure and destruction of Palestinians."
International law experts have stated that the bombardment of Gaza and the limitations on the entry of food, water, and other humanitarian supplies could amount to genocide, even though Israel has denied the claim.
The US adopted the 1948 Genocide Convention, which states that "complicity in genocide" is a punishable act. It outlines that genocide, whether committed in times of peace or in times of war, is a crime under international law that state parties undertake to prevent and punish.
Palestinians Speak Out
The plaintiffs and their supporters claimed that the court's decision to hear their arguments on Wednesday was significant, notwithstanding the outcome. Palestinians spoke at a court in California last Friday about the dire situation in Gaza.
Mohammed Monadel Herzallah, a Palestinian American with family in Gaza, said in the CCR statement that it is important that the court acknowledged the US is providing unconditional support to Israel's continuous genocide in Gaza and that a federal court heard Palestinian voices for the first time.
Herzallah continued that they are still devastated that the court would not take the critical step to stop the Biden administration from continuing to support the slaughter of the Palestinian people.
He shared that currently, his family lacks food, medicine, and most necessities for survival. However, despite the struggle, he has vowed to do everything in their power to save their people's lives.
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