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Palestinians sue Biden for failing to prevent Israeli genocide in Gaza

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Joe Biden

The lawsuit filed by Palestinians as well as Palestinian human rights organisations, Al-Haq and Defense for Children International, seeks to require the US to fulfil its obligations under international law to prevent what many legal experts say is a potential genocide against Palestinians being committed by Israel.

“This unfolding genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza has so far been made possible because of the unconditional support given by … President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, constituting a breach of US responsibilities under customary international law, as codified in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” the lawsuit read.

Legal experts, UN officials and more than 800 scholars have warned that Israel is potentially committing genocide against Palestinians. When it comes to the issue of genocide, many experts refer to the definition outlined in Article II of the UN’s Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

This definition, widely accepted by more than 130 countries including the US, Germany, France, and the UK, states that genocide means acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

The lawsuit also includes declarations from leading genocide experts who have given the same warning.

“I conclude that there is a serious risk of genocide committed against the Palestinian population of Gaza and that the United States of America is in breach of its obligation … to use its position of influence with the Government of Israel and to take the best measures within its power to prevent the crime taking place,” William Schabas, a leading legal expert on genocide, said in a statement.

The legal filing was submitted in the District Court for Northern California and was filed against US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. Given that the lawsuit involves an accusation of the US violating an international treaty – in this case, the Genocide Convention – the district court holds jurisdiction over the matter.

It was filed on behalf of the Palestinian clients by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the law firm, Van Der Hout, LLP.

“For the last five weeks, President Biden and Secretaries Blinken and Austin have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with an Israeli government that has made clear its intention to destroy the Palestinian population in Gaza,” stated Katherine Gallagher, a senior attorney at CCR and one of the lawyers who brought the case forward.

“The United States has a clear and binding obligation to prevent, not further, genocide. They have failed in meeting their legal and moral duty to use their considerable power to end this horror. They must do so.”

The Pentagon announced it does not comment on pending litigation, and the White House and State Department did not immediately respond to Middle East Eye’s request for comment.

The lawsuit is the latest legal battle launched in the US after war broke out in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories on 7 October, when Hamas and armed Palestinian groups launched an attack on Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis, according to the official tally.

Meanwhile, Israel has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians so far in its aerial bombing campaign and ground assault, with 70 percent of them being women and children.

Israeli forces have targeted hospitals, residential neighbourhoods, ambulances, mosques, and other civilian infrastructure. Entire neighbourhoods in the besieged enclave have been completely levelled as Israel’s military advances in northern Gaza.

NGOs call on Pentagon to stop supplying Israel with artillery ammunition

By
IFP Media Wire
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Pentagon

Over 30 groups, including Oxfam America, Amnesty International, and the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), penned a joint letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to express alarm over the Pentagon’s plans to transfer armaments from existing US stocks already positioned in Israel.

“Under the current circumstances, granting the government of Israel access to these munitions would undermine the protection of civilians, respect for international humanitarian law (IHL), and the credibility of the Biden administration,” the groups wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Washington Post.

“Simply put, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which high explosive 155mm artillery shells could be used in Gaza in compliance with IHL,” they added.

The arms are part of what is known as the War Reserve Stockpile, which is pre-positioned in Israel to facilitate the arming of US forces, or for transfer to Israel, the daily reported. The newspaper said it is not clear if the transfer of the artillery ammunition has already happened.

US President Joe Biden and his senior officials have long reiterated that they expect Israel to comply with international law as it carries out its ongoing campaign in Gaza. But they have repeatedly shirked away from responding to whether Israel is actually in compliance as the death toll continues to mount.

Biden has been facing growing criticism after voicing unwavering support for Israel’s campaign, which it is conducting in response to a shocking Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas in which over 1,200 people were killed and hundreds more taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel on Friday revised down its earlier estimate of over 1,400 killed during last month’s attack.

Biden’s fellow Democrats have increasingly been joining calls from the international community to implement a ceasefire to halt the ongoing violence in Gaza, but the president has so far rejected any support for the initiative.

The war has exacerbated already poor humanitarian conditions in Gaza, with basic necessities such as food, water, and fuel increasingly depleted amid an Israeli siege that has severely restricted deliveries of badly needed international aid to the coastal enclave.

At least 11,180 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,700 children and women, and more than 28,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities in Gaza.

UNESCO-tagged Soltaniyeh Dome, luring landmark of Iran’s Zanjan

By
Fatemeh Askarieh
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Soltaniyeh Dome Iran

The 50-meter tall dome, dubbed as Iran’s Taj Mahal, was constructed in 14th century during the reign of the ruler Il-khan Oljeitu, known as Muhammad Khodabandeh, as an Ilkhanid mausoleum.

Soltaniyeh, which is on the UNESCO world heritage list, is the largest brick dome in the world and is a shining example of the Persian architecture.

Below are some pictures of the dome:

US confirms its abilities to help Ukraine diminishing every day

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Russia Ukraine War Weapons Arms

“Each week that passes, our ability to fully fund what we feel is necessary to give Ukraine the tools and capacities it needs to both defend its territory and to continue to make advances, that gets harder and harder,” Sullivan said.

“We are still able to supply the military assistance that Ukraine has been asking for. But if we got the full funding, we could do so on a much more certain and consistent basis,” he noted.

“The window is closing” but the White House cannot indicate a specific date when all the Washington’s funds to help Kiev authorities will be spent, the official continued.

“I can tell you it is already having an effect on our ability to give to Ukraine everything that it needs. And that effect will only compound over time,” he added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has recently insisted there is no way the Russian military can be defeated. His comments follow recent claims by President Vladimir Putin that Western governments were lowering their expectations regarding the outcome of the Ukraine conflict.

Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Thursday, Peskov stated “it is high time that everyone in Kiev and Washington realized: it’s impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield.”

Putin claimed on Friday that Western powers were “changing their tune now [and] saying different things” compared to their previous insistence on inflicting a military defeat on Russia.

Citing anonymous US officials, NBC has recently reported that behind closed doors Washington had been pushing Kiev toward negotiations with Moscow. The outlet also claimed that the US had been conducting “delicate” unofficial discussions with Kiev regarding concessions Ukraine would be willing to make in potential peace talks.

A State Department spokesperson denied the claims, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeated that his government would not negotiate unless Russia withdraws its troops from territory within Ukraine’s 1991 borders.

According to NBC, Western officials are increasingly concerned that Ukraine is “running out of forces,” and also harbor fears about their own ability to shore up Kiev with weapons shipments in the long run amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Media speculation has recently intensified after Ukraine failed to make any notable gains despite a months-long counteroffensive. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost more than 90,000 troops in the operation, which began in early June.

President Zelensky told Reuters in an interview this week Ukraine will not stop fighting Russia until it takes back all the territories it considers its own. Withdrawal of US support would hardly affect Kiev’s policies in this regard, he added.

Iran calls for prosecution of Israeli “war criminals”, blasts Israel attack on Gaza reconstruction HQ

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Nasser Kanaani

Nasser reiterated, “Such crimes clearly show the Zionists’ savage and inhumane nature.”

Kanaani further said, “The conscience of humanity is hurt by what is happening to the oppressed Palestinian nation because of the Zionists’ crimes and savagery in Gaza, and it cannot remain silent in the face of it.”

Kanaani highlighted Israel’s incessant and open violation of international laws and its continued aggression against the Palestinian people.

He called on the international community to use all available means to hold the Israeli regime to account and prosecute the its “war criminals”.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also on Monday strongly condemned the Israeli bombing of the headquarters of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza.

The ministry labeled the attack as “a clear violation of international law and an extension of Israel’s approach to targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure,” according to its statement.

The ministry said the committee “has worked through its projects to alleviate the suffering of the population in the besieged Gaza Strip due to the long blockade and ongoing aggression.”

The ministry also called for immediate action from the international community to halt Israeli actions in Gaza.

Around 11,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s incessant strikes on Gaza with at least 2,500 of them being children.

Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 killing about 1,200 and taking more than 200 people hostage. The Gaza-based group said the attack came as a response to increased deadly attacks by Israeli settlers and the continued desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israel.

At least two killed in Israeli attack in southern Lebanon as tensions mount

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Lebanon Israel

Two people were killed in an Israeli raid on the town of Ainata on Monday, according to a first-responder organisation affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement and Lebanese state media.

It was not immediately clear if those killed were civilians.

The Israeli military announced earlier that “terrorists fired towards several locations in northern Israel”, and the army claimed its artillery struck the source of the fire and hit posts which “terrorists used to carry out launches toward Israel”.

In a separate attack, Israeli forces shelled media teams and journalists in the Lebanese border village of Yaroun, official Lebanese news agency NNA reported.

Separately, the Israel Electric Corporation said an employee died on Monday after being wounded in a missile attack carried out the previous day by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israeli forces from its stronghold in southern Lebanon after Israel launched an assault on Gaza last month in response to a Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Palestinian officials in Gaza say more than 11,200 people, including more than 4,600 children, have been killed since the Israeli assault began on October 7.

Around 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli authorities.

The exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border mark the deadliest violence in the area since Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006.

More than 70 Hezbollah fighters and 10 civilians have been killed in Lebanon, and 10 people including seven soldiers have been killed in Israel. Thousands more on both sides have fled shelling.

Until now, violence has largely been confined within a band of territory on either side of the border.

Israel has said it does not want war on its northern front as it seeks to topple Hamas in Gaza. The United States has said it doesn’t want conflict to spread around the region, sending two aircraft carriers to the area to deter Iran from getting involved.

Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah stated on Saturday that the Lebanon front would “remain active”, and added there was “a quantitative improvement” in the pace of the group’s operations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah on Monday not to broaden its attacks.

“This is playing with fire. Fire will be answered with much stronger fire. They should not try us, because we have only shown a little of our strength,” he cautioned.

Asked at a news conference on Saturday about what Israel’s red line was, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “If you hear that we have attacked Beirut, you will understand that Nasrallah has crossed that line.”

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, stressed he was reassured by the “rationalism” of Hezbollah so far.

“We are preserving self-restraint, and it’s up to Israel to stop its ongoing provocations in south Lebanon,” he added.

Lebanon took years to rebuild from the 2006 war and can ill afford another one, four years into a financial crisis that has impoverished many Lebanese and paralysed the state.

Israel has long seen Hezbollah as the biggest threat along its borders. The 2006 war killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin characterised the violence as “tit-for-tat exchanges between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the north”, predicting Israel would remain focused on the threat from Hezbollah “for the foreseeable future”.

“And certainly no one wants to see another conflict break out in the north on Israel’s border in earnest,” he told reporters in Seoul.

Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center said, “I can definitely see a wider escalation, but I am not sure about a full conflict that nobody wants”, adding, “Nobody wants one on one hand, and I think the US is playing a strong role keeping things under control.”

Israel peddling illusionary advances in Gaza as part of psychological war: Hamas

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Israeli Army

“The (Israeli) occupation tries to market illusionary advances in Gaza as part of its psychological war on the residents of Gaza,” Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a statement.

He added the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is steadfast and is controlling the battle and carrying out quality operations against Israeli tanks and military vehicles.

“The presence of the occupation tanks in certain places doesn’t mean its control over the area,” Barhoum stated.

Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari had claimed that the Israeli army is advancing in Gaza from different areas.

The Israel Defense Forces also announced Hamas’ military organization has collapsed in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said on Monday Hamas has lost control of Gaza, its activists fleeing to the south.

According to the minister, Israeli forces are advancing “according to plans and carry out the tasks accurately, lethally”. The IDF, in his words, has intensified its operations against Hamas’ tunnels under Gaza.

According to the Israeli military, before the start of hostilities, Hamas units in the Gaza Strip numbered 30,000 fighters, which were grouped into five regional brigades, 24 battalions and approximately 130 companies. They possessed combat skills in engineering, anti-tank warfare, sniping, and had anti-ship and air defense units.

As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 38th day, at least 11,180 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,700 children and women, and more than 28,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures by Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings including hospitals, mosques and churches have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave since last month.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,200, according to official figures.

Over 190,000 applications filed for weapons licenses in Israel since start of war

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Israeli settler

“Since the beginning of the war, more than 190,000 applications for weapons licenses have been submitted to the Ministry of National Security,” Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist reported on Monday.

It added that “in the first ten months of 2023, more than 210,000 applications have been submitted, and the year is not over yet.”

It also said so far 31,000 licenses have been issued since the start of 2023, while in 2022, 41,000 applications were submitted and only 13,000 licenses were granted.

The Israeli weapons industry has seen a surge in demand, in stark contrast to many businesses that have closed in Israel due to the ongoing war in Gaza, according to the newspaper.

As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 38th day, at least 11,200 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,700 children and women, and more than 28,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures by Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave since last month.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,200, according to official figures.

Blinken acknowledges disagreements within US State Department on Gaza war

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Antony Blinken

His message to personnel, sent on the heels of his recent travels, comes amid growing anger and dissent not only from staff at the State Department but within the broader Biden administration.

CNN reported last week that hundreds of personnel at the US Agency for International Development signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire, and there are reports of a “dissent memo” inside the State Department.

Last month, a State Department official publicly resigned in protest of the administration’s policy on the Israel-Hamas war.

“I know that for many of you, the suffering caused by this crisis is taking a profound personal toll,” Blinken wrote in his email Monday, which was seen by CNN.

“The anguish that comes with seeing the daily images of babies, children, elderly people, women, and other civilians suffering in this crisis is wrenching. I feel it myself.”

The top US diplomat noted that “some people in the Department may disagree with approaches we are taking or have views on what we can do better.”

The State Department head then noted that forums have been organized in Washington, DC, so that employees can provide feedback.

“We’re listening: what you share is informing our policy and our messages,” he added.

In his email, Blinken provided an overview of his trip to the Middle East and Asia last week, saying that the US’ “overarching objective remains the same: to bring this terrible conflict to a close as quickly as possible, while standing by Israel’s right and obligation, in full accordance with international humanitarian law, to ensure a terrorist attack like October 7th never happens again.”

He reiterated that “far too many Palestinian civilians have died” and “much more can and should be done to reduce their suffering”.

“As I said in private and in public, we believe Palestinian people’s voices must be at the center of post-crisis governance in Gaza,” Blinken wrote, adding, “We believe in Palestinian-led governance of Gaza, with Gaza unified with the West Bank. Gaza’s reconstruction must be supported with a sustained mechanism.”

HuffPost was the first to report on Monday’s email.

At a State Department briefing Monday, spokesperson Matt Miller noted that “the State Department, like every organization, not just in government but around the world, contains people with a diversity of views”.

“One of our strengths as an organization is that we have that diversity of views and that we welcome people to make those views known,” Miller said.

He added that Blinken has met with a number of people “from all ranks of the department, from different bureaus in the department, to hear exactly what they think about our policy, both with respect to Israel and its conflict with Hamas, and with respect to other matters, including very controversial matters.”

A State Department dissent cable has also accused Israel of committing “war crimes” in Gaza and slammed President Biden for “spreading misinformation” on the Israel-Palestine war.

The cable, first reported by Axios, was sent to the State Department’s policy office on 3 November. It was signed by 100 State Department and USAID employees, who urged the administration to reassess their policy toward Israel and demand a ceasefire to the war.

“Members of the White House and (the National Security Council) displayed a clear disregard for the lives of Palestinians, a documented unwillingness to de-escalate, and, even prior to October 7, a reckless lack of strategic foresight,” the authors said, taking a broad swipe at the Biden administration.

The authors alleged the US “doubled down on our unwavering military assistance” to Israel without imposing “clear or actionable redlines”, as Israel engaged in actions that constitute “war crimes and/or crimes against humanity under international law”.

Middle East Eye first reported how State Department officials were drafting dissent cables amid frustration with the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israel.

The draft MEE exclusively reported on 25 October called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza and implored Washington to promote truthful and balanced public messaging towards resolving the war.

The 3 November memo was harsher in tone and also criticised Biden for “questioning the number of deaths” in Gaza.

Biden suggested last month that the death toll reported by Palestinian health officials in Gaza was not reliable. However, senior US officials have since backtracked.

Last week, the State Department’s top Middle East official stated that deaths in the Gaza Strip could likely be higher than are being reported.

Hamas says ready to release 100 hostages against ceasefire

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Israel Hostages Hamas

“The occupation [authorities] provided the list of one hundred names of hostages. We told intermediaries that we know [the location] of just fifty among them and we need the ceasefire to find the others held by different groups,” the statement posted on the official Telegram channel of Hamas reads.

According to the Hamas version, the possibility of “releasing ten hostages every day during five days: is now being discussed”.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has also said Israel requested 100 women and children be released from Hamas custody.

In return, the al-Qassam Brigades offered the exchange of 200 Palestinian children and 75 women held in Israeli custody, a five-day ceasefire, and entry of humanitarian aid to the entire besieged Strip.

The al-Qassam spokesperson added that Israel is stalling on a response to their offer and that Qatar is facilitating the talks.

There are currently 200 Palestinian children and 75 women in Israeli custody. Around 239 hostages are reported to be in Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, but it is unclear how many are still alive after Israel’s heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to Al Jazeera by phone, Spokesman Osama Hamdan said that mediators have repeatedly come close to reaching an agreement on a captive release, but he accused Israel of repeatedly changing the terms at the last minute.

He stated the most recent arrangement would have seen Israel release 200 children and 75 women from Israeli jails in exchange for the release of 50 captives over a five-day period.

He added Hamas’s condition was also that Israel allow unfettered aid access to Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt, including the entry of fuel into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“When all those arrangements were done, the Israelis postponed that … It shows that they are not willing to go forward,” Hamdan told Al Jazeera.

“They did not reject [the deal]. There was an agreement about this and at the end, they added more conditions.”

He noted the Israelis were seeking more names of the captives, which he said Hamas has been unable to collect because many were taken by “different factions” in Gaza.

“If the Israeli side came back to the mediators today and said we are ready to implement [the agreement], things will go forward,” he said, adding, “I believe that the mediators are doing their best in order to bring them [the Israelis] back.”

Five hostages have been released thus far, most of them following negotiations through diplomatic channels with assistance from countries including Qatar and Egypt, and one after a ground incursion by Israeli soldiers inside Gaza.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of any ceasefire “without the return of our hostages”. The United States has advocated instead for “humanitarian pauses” to allow civilians to flee and for aid delivery.

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