--- title: Lawsuit Alleges Biden is Complicit in Palestinian Genocide description: A case alleging Biden and cabinet officials are complicit in Israel’s genocide against Gazans will move forward with a hearing. canonical: https://time.com/6588752/biden-lawsuit-israel-palestinian-genocide/ author: Solcyré Burga article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-01-25T21:59:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:42:52.242Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Stakes of the Lawsuit Alleging Biden is Complicit in Palestinian Genocide og:description: The stakes could be both political and lega. og:url: https://time.com/6588752/biden-lawsuit-israel-palestinian-genocide/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61763645a38916e5/698a442c01168209cd983d49/biden-israel-gaza-lawsuit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: biden-israel-gaza-lawsuit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Stakes of the Lawsuit Alleging Biden is Complicit in Palestinian Genocide twitter:description: The stakes could be both political and lega. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt61763645a38916e5/698a442c01168209cd983d49/biden-israel-gaza-lawsuit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Stakes of the Lawsuit Alleging Biden is Complicit in Palestinian Genocide > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=eca6b518-803d-41f0-87fb-0d78177a8c6d&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: U.N. Court Says Israel Must Prevent Genocidal Acts in Gaza, But Doesn’t Order a Ceasefire [Watch (HLS stream): U.N. Court Says Israel Must Prevent Genocidal Acts in Gaza, But Doesn’t Order a Ceasefire](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QMls2CVu.m3u8) (7:47)  _Published 2024-01-26. The world watched closely as a panel of 17 judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—the highest court of the United Nations—heard arguments earlier this month over whether Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, in a case brought forward by South Africa. Today, in a landmark interim order, the court determined that South Africa has legal standing and ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent acts of genocide._  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Jan 25, 2024 9:59 PM UTC  US President Joe Biden holds a press conference following a solidarity visit to Israel, on October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. US President Joe Biden holds a press conference following a solidarity visit to Israel, on October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Jan 25, 2024 9:59 PM UTC A federal court case filed against President Joe Biden and two U.S. cabinet officials for allegedlybeing complicit in Israel’s genocide against Gazans will move forward with a hearing on Friday. The case, which names Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as defendants, was filed by Palestinian human rights groups and individuals with help from the nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights. _Defense for Children International–Palestine v. Biden_ seeks to stop the U.S. from supporting Israel, which plaintiffs say has cost them the lives of family members, and will be heard in Oakland, Calif. “We have lost so many people, but there are still many more who are living, and we owe it to them to do everything possible to stop this genocide,” [said Mohammad Herzallah](https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/palestinians-sue-biden-failure-prevent-genocide-seek-emergency), a plaintiff in the case who has family in Gaza. “I have done everything in my power: I have participated in protests, sit-ins, wrote letters to my representatives, civil disobedience. Now I am asking the courts to end this ongoing genocide.” **Read More:** [_For Antony Blinken, the War in Gaza Is a Test of U.S. Power_](https://time.com/collection/davos-2024-ideas-of-the-year/6551990/antony-blinken-israel-gaza-us-power/) More than 25,000 people in Gaza have died since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The military offensive campaign in Gaza began after Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped another 240\. Throughout the conflict, the U.S. has supported their Middle-Eastern ally, vetoing United Nations resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire, affirming [support for Israel](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/22/joint-statement-on-israel-2/#:~:text=The%20leaders%20reiterated%20their%20support,release%20of%20all%20remaining%20hostages.) and its right to self-defense, and providing financial and military aid to the countrysince last fall. The Biden Administration is seeking to dismiss the case.“This suit raises quintessential political questions because Plaintiffs seek to have this Court superintend the Executive Branch’s foreign policy and national security judgment and compel the government to prevent Israel from purportedly committing genocide in Gaza,” the defendants [said in their motion to dismiss](https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2024/01/64%5F1-12-24%5FGovt-reply-MTD%5Fw.pdf). The lawsuit is unusual, experts say.“In the past, when such complaints have been filed with an American court, usually the courts tended to throw them out… because of issues of national security,” says George Washington University professor Michael Barnett. “That said, the fact that you have complaints filed in an American court brings attention to the very support that the U.S. continues to give to Israel.”  Israeli forces' flares light up the night sky in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. Abed Khaled—AP ## **‘** **What really matters is that you make noise** **’** On Nov. 13, Palestinians filed a lawsuit against Biden, Blinken, and Austin to prevent them from providing more “arms, money, and diplomatic support” because they allege Israel is committing genocide “against the civilian population of Gaza.” The U.S. government previously filed a motion to dismiss, saying that plaintiffs lacked jurisdiction, the complaint presents a “nonjusticiable political question,” and that the Genocide Convention does not “create a private right of action.” But the case is still moving forward to a public hearing on Jan. 26, after which plaintiffs hope the court issues a preliminary injunction that will force the U.S. to “take all measures within their power to prevent Israel from committing genocide,” [the complaint says](https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/11/Complaint%5FDCI-Pal-v-Biden%5Fww.pdf). Plaintiffs include Omar Al-Najjar, Ahmed Abu Artema, and Mohammed Ahmed Abu Rokbeh—all currently in Gaza; Mohammad Monadel Herzallah, Laila Elhaddad, Waeil Elbhassi, Basim Elkarra, and “A.N.”—all U.S. citizens with family members in Gaza; and human rights groups Defense for Children International–Palestine and Al-Haq. Seventy-seven international human rights organizations, bar associations and lawyers filed an amicus brief [in favor of](https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/12/47%5F12-29-23%5FAmicus-Brief-Human-Rights-Orgs%5Fw.pdf) the plaintiffs. ### More From TIME Plaintiffs have spoken out about the emotional toll the Israel-Hamas war has taken on them and their families. “To be honest, it’s difficult to revisit all the scenes of the past weeks. They open a door to hell when I recall them,” said plaintiff Al-Najjar, a 24-year-old intern physician at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. “I’ve lost five relatives, treated too many children who are the sole survivors of their families, received the bodies of my fellow medical students and their families, and seen the hospital turn into a shelter for tens of thousands of people as we all run out of fuel, electricity, food, and water. The U.S. has to stop this genocide. Everyone in the world has to stop this.” (Khan Younis, which houses thousands of displaced citizens and health workers, has recently been under attack after Israel Defense Forces increased their military operations in southern Gaza.) The legal grounding for the case is based in part on the 1948 Genocide Convention, which the U.S. signed along with 152 other countries. Every signatory to that treaty is obligated to not commit genocide, [as well as](https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide-convention.shtml#:~:text=Status%20of%20membership,have%20yet%20to%20do%20so.) punish and prevent genocide. Barry Trachtenberg, one of three genocide scholars who [submitted a declaration](https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/11/Declaration%20Expert%20Historians%5Fw.pdf) in favor plaintiffs’ motion, will speak at Friday’s hearing. U.S. officials have previously denounced genocide allegations against Israel, with John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, calling them “unfounded.” “That’s not a word that ought to be thrown around lightly. And we certainly don’t believe that it applies here,” Kirby said during a Jan. 11 press briefing. As part of its defense, the Biden Administration says Israel is a sovereign nation that controls its own operations. It claims the plaintiffs have not done enough to show that “their alleged injuries” can be traced specificallyto U.S. support of Israel. Defendants also note that the U.S. has provided aid “while complying with international humanitarian law.” One example their filing points to includes the Administration’s work to “mitigate the humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, as U.S. officials helped facilitate a seven-day pause in fighting. The Administration also citesthe political question doctrine, which limits federal courts ability to answer some questions that are best resolved by the political branches of government. Even if the court does decide to throw out the case, it could have political effects rather than legal ones. “What really matters is that you make noise, raise the attention and volume,” Barnett says. “You get the ability to stand in court, and register your overall concerns and make your case.” Public opinion on U.S. involvement in the war has been controversial. Only 35% of adults approve of the Biden Administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas war, [according to a Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/12/08/americans-views-of-the-israel-hamas-war/#:~:text=Biden%20administration's%20response%20to%20Israel,and%2024%25%20are%20not%20sure.) survey published in December. “The fact that the U.S. is being charged with actual complicity in these crimes against its longtime ally and friend, Israel, is extraordinary,” Barnett adds. “I think it's worth pausing and taking in this moment because you’re beginning to see American politicians and people in the executive wing begin to reconsider that relationship.” ## Transcript For these reasons the court indicates the following provisional measures 1 by 15 votes to to the state of Israel shall in accordance with its obligations under the convention on the prevention and Punishment of the crime of genocide in relation to the Palestinians in Gaza. Take all measures within his power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article 2 of the convention in particular a killing members of the group be causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group C deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of Life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part in the imposing measures intended to prevent further within the group the state of Israel shall ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts described in point one above the state of Israel shall take all measures. Within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip the state of Israel shall take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life face by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip the state of Israel shall take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of Acts within the scope of Article 2 in article 3 of the convention on the prevention and Punishment of the crime of genocide against members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip the state of Israel shall submit a report to the court on all measures taken to give effect to this order within one month as from the date of the order. I wish to begin by thanking the judges of the international court of justice for dealing with this matter expeditiously given the urgency of the need to protect innocent civilians in Palestine and train show that to the home that have electrical has referred to in the case it brought before the icj that that is addressed and that people's lives are saved. The saving of life is not merely with respect to having a ceasefire is to ensuring that humanitarian. Aid is provided to those who need support as well as ensuring that the state of Israel which is currency of the occupier and administrator in Palestine provides the necessary basic services. 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