A U.S. group has filed a request urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into President Joe Biden and key members of his administration for their role in “aiding and abetting” Israel’s alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
In a sprawling 172-page report, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) laid out extensive evidence of complicity in Israel’s “grave abuses” by Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“Not only did Biden, Blinken and Secretary Austin ignore and justify the overwhelming evidence of Israel’s grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their own staff recommendations to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it could carry out its atrocities,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s executive director.
This includes the U.S.’s record-breaking military aid sent to Israel under Biden; the U.S. government’s intelligence-sharing and logistical support; and the U.S.’s diplomatic and political backing of the assault, including in the UN.
These actions were all taken by American officials despite their knowledge that Israel was committing grave violations of human rights in Gaza and that supporting them militarily was a violation of international and domestic law, establishing intent, the group says in its filing.
This support was crucial in allowing Israel to carry out the genocide, DAWN argues, with the U.S. acting as Israel’s largest arms provider and numerous reported incidents of U.S. weapons being used in deadly attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Meanwhile, Biden officials repeatedly pledged their unconditional support of Israel while authorities were carrying out a deadly blockade on humanitarian aid.
U.S. officials were aware of these alleged violations, the group said, as evidenced by numerous reports of internal findings of Israel committing war crimes that went ignored or dismissed by the Biden administration.
In the face of the mountain of evidence of Israeli war crimes, Biden and Blinken “undoubtedly knew of the potential perpetration of the Israeli Crimes in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Israeli military operations,” the filing says. Austin, with authority to approve or block weapons transfers, similarly “played a substantial role in enabling these violations.”
“The bombs dropped on Palestinian hospitals, schools and homes are American bombs, the campaign of murder and persecution has been carried out with American support,” said Reed Brody, a board member for DAWN and international lawyer. “U.S. officials have been aware of exactly what Israel is doing, and yet their support never stopped.”
According to Zeteo, this is the first time a U.S.-based group has ever requested that the ICC investigate a former U.S. president for complicity in war crimes.
In a press release on the report, DAWN also noted that President Donald Trump may have violated international law by issuing sanctions against the ICC in an executive order earlier this month. Additionally, Trump’s plan for mass forced displacement in Gaza would, if implemented, also implicate him in liability for a crime against humanity, the group said.
“Trump isn’t just obstructing justice; he’s trying to burn down the courthouse to prevent anyone from holding Israeli criminals accountable,” said DAWN Advocacy Director Raed Jarrar.
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