US rights group sues Joe Biden for alleged 'failure to prevent genocide' in Gaza

A US-based rights group has sued President Joe Biden and two of his cabinet members for apparently failing to prevent and aiding and abetting "genocide" in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The federal complaint was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on Monday (Nov 13) against Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. It accused them of "failure to prevent and complicity in the Israeli government's unfolding genocide".

In 2004, this rights group even won a huge case in the US Supreme Court which established the rights of prisoners held by the US military at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Besides the lawsuit, more than 500 political appointees and staff people from 40 government departments signed a letter to Biden on Tuesday denouncing his support for the war. This letter urged the president to seek an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and to press Israel to allow humanitarian relief into the area.

Such dissenting opinion remains within the State Department and there's also resentment over Biden's stance on Israel's aggression.

The CCR said that the Hamas cross-border attack on Oct 7 does not provide legal justification for the scale of Israel's assault on Gaza. Hamas militants killed approximately 1,200 people and they took away over 200 people hostages.

Israel waged war, calling it retaliatory action, and launched incessant missile strikes on what it calls "militants hideouts", which has killed over 11,000 in the Gaza Strip, including 4,600 children, as per the Hamas authorities.

The complaint said: "In the Bible, God commands the extermination of Amalekite men, women, children, and animals, and this commandment is described by scholars as 'divinely mandated genocide'."

The CCR saidthe targeting of civilian infrastructure and forced expulsions amount to genocide and the 1948 international convention against genocide requires the US and other countries to use their power and influence to stop the killing.

Watch:Taxi drivers in Gaza forced to use cooking oil for fuel as war devastates economy

The introduction of the complaint, which was brought on behalf of several Palestinian groups, read: "This case is brought on behalf of Palestinian human rights organizations and individuals to enforce what is perhaps the most basic and important legal, and moral, obligation in the world – the obligation to prevent genocide, the destruction of a people."

The complaint argues that the "unconditional support given" by the US has so far enabled the "unfolding genocide" of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

It said, "As Israel's closest ally and strongest supporter, being its biggest provider of military assistance by a large margin and with Israel being the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance since World War II, the United States has the means available to have a deterrent effect on Israeli officials now pursuing genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza."

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.