Rights groups, ex-diplomats urge US court to review lawsuit accusing Biden of genocide

In February, a US federal judge in Oakland, California, dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of failing to prevent a genocide in Gaza, saying that the court did not have jurisdiction over the issue. The ruling was a legal blow to Palestinian plaintiffs’ who are either in Gaza or have family members there.

The amicus curiae briefs were filed on Monday and argue that the court should review its decision not to weigh in on whether the US president’s action violates the law when engaging in foreign policy.

“The Panel’s decision is one of profound importance, doing serious damage to Congress and the Judiciary, the rule of law, and the United States’ credibility in the world,” one brief filed by former US intelligence officers and diplomats said.

“US statutes prohibit committing or assisting genocide and mass atrocities, mankind’s worst crime”.

Another brief cited by Jewish Voice For Peace and If Not Now movements said the Biden administration was in violation of its own memorandum on arms transfer policy which prohibits weapons transfers to countries where they might risk fuelling genocide.

“The Israeli assault on Gaza employs the same tools of dehumanization, intentional starvation, and mass slaughter used in past genocides, and which we, as Jews, recognize,” the groups noted.

If the Ninth Circuit grants the petition for a rehearing, the case would be heard by the court’s entire eleven-judge panel, a legal session termed, en banc court.

“A case needs to meet at least one of two requirements for en banc review: it must involve a matter of ‘exceptional importance; or have resulted in inconsistency with other court rulings,” The Center For Constitutional Rights said in a statement.

“The plaintiffs’ petition, filed on their behalf by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Van Der Hout LLP, argues that their case fulfills both,” they announced.

The lawsuit was originally filed on 13 November by a group of Palestinians with help from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the law firm, Van Der Hout, LLP.

The filing accused the administration of failing to “prevent an unfolding genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s military assault on the besieged enclave. At the time of the filing, Israel had killed around 11,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,020 Palestinians and wounded 94,925 others since 7 October when the war on Gaza broke out.