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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Gaza Genocide Lawsuit Against Biden Has Day in Court: Palestinians, Genocide Expert Provide Historic Testimony in U.S. Case</h1>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div><h2><span>Today’s historic International Court of Justice ruling against Israel comes out hours before federal case is heard</span></h2><p><span>January 26, 2024, Oakland, CA – A federal court heard arguments in the case </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/palestinians-sue-biden-failure-prevent-genocide-seek-emergency"><em><span>Defense for Children International – Palestine v. Biden</span></em></a><span>
today, including extensive live testimony from Palestinian plaintiffs
and a scholar of genocide and the Holocaust. Attorneys from the </span><strong>Center for Constitutional Rights</strong><span>,
together with co-counsel from Van Der Hout LLP, asked the court to
immediately order the United States to cease military support for
Israel’s unfolding genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and opposed the
government’s efforts to have the case dismissed. Earlier today, the
International Court of Justice in The Hague issued provisional measures,
finding that South Africa has made a plausible case that Israel is
committing a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. </span></p><p><span>One
plaintiff testified from Gaza, one from Ramallah, and five plaintiffs
provided live testimony in court, of the death, displacement, and
destruction their families and communities have faced since Israel began
its campaign of retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attacks – in just
one example, approximately 60 members of </span><strong>Ahmed Abofoul</strong><span>’s
extended family have been killed since the complaint was filed on
November 13, underscoring the need for the court to issue an immediate
injunction. </span></p><p><span>“The images of our families and
communities, Palestinian babies, children, women, and men from Gaza, are
shaking us to our core,” said </span><strong>Ayman Nijim</strong><span>,
a plaintiff in the case. “These are times of genocide, and we
desperately need a U.S. court to intervene. So much hangs in the
balance. Today, Palestinians spoke out in court and made a powerful case
for why a preliminary injunction is necessary: we are hopeful the judge
will agree with us and issue an order soon.”</span></p><p><span>The
case charges President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary
of Defense Austin with failing in their legal responsibility to prevent –
and their complicity in – Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. It
seeks an emergency court order to halt U.S. support for Israel’s
assault, including by enjoining the transfer of more weapons and
unconditional support to the Israeli government. </span></p><p><span>“Our
plaintiffs’ testimonies today demonstrate just how urgent it is for the
Biden administration to finally do what they and the vast majority of
the people of the world have demanded: stop sending weapons to enable
Israel’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians in besieged Gaza and
instead uphold its clear legal duty to end, not further, genocide,” said
</span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/home/who-we-are/staff/gallagher-katherine"><strong>Katherine Gallagher</strong></a><span>,
a senior attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights who argued in
court today. “These are clear legal duties under U.S. and
international law, and we call on the court to uphold its Constitutional
role to hold President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary
of Defense Austin to legal obligations and issue a preliminary
injunction to stop the flow of weapons for Israel’s genocide.”</span></p><p><span>Additional experts submitted declarations and amicus briefs in the U.S. case, including </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/12/44-7_12-22-23_Paul-Decl_w.pdf"><strong>Josh Paul,</strong></a><span>
the former high-ranking State Department official who resigned to
protest the U.S.’s continued transfer of arms to Israel that would be
used to commit human rights abuses; the world’s leading legal expert in
genocide, </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/11/Declaration%20Expert%20William%20Schabas_w.pdf"><strong>William Schabas</strong></a><strong>; </strong><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/12/47_12-29-23_Amicus-Brief-Human-Rights-Orgs_w.pdf"><strong>77 human rights organizations</strong></a><span> from around the world; </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/12/48-2_12-29-23_ADC-AROC-CAIR-ACRL-Amicus_w.pdf"><strong>Arab-American organizations</strong></a><span> documenting the harm to their communities; </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/12/46-1_12-29-23_JVP-Amicus_w.pdf"><strong>Jewish Voice for Peace</strong></a><span>; </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/12/50-1_12-29-23_Palestine-Journalists-Syndicate-Amicus_w.pdf"><strong>Palestinian journalists</strong></a><span>; and </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/12/52-1_12-30-23_Doctor-Amicus_w.pdf"><strong>medical professionals</strong></a><span>.</span></p><p><strong>Dr. Barry Trachtenberg</strong><span>, a genocide and Holocaust scholar who submitted a </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/11/Declaration%20Expert%20Historians_w.pdf"><span>declaration</span></a><span>
with other historians and also testified today, said, “Israel’s assault
on Gaza has been funded by the American people, fought with
U.S.-supplied weapons, and encouraged by a complicit White House,” he
said. “Unlike past genocides, which were adjudicated long after they had
concluded, we have an opportunity to halt this one in its tracks.
Palestinians have suffered far too much and for far too long.”</span><strong> </strong></p><p><span>Notably,
in its responses, the U.S. government has not challenged the facts that
Israel is committing genocide or responded to the facts setting out the
way that U.S.-munitions and other forms of U.S. support have furthered
the genocide, but has rather focused on technical jurisdictional issues,
arguing that the court cannot review its policy choices and that it is
Israel, an “independent actor,” causing the injuries, despite the U.S.’s
considerable influence over Israel. </span></p><p><span>Center for
Constitutional Rights attorneys argued today that the court has a
constitutional duty to enforce the government’s legal obligations to
prevent and not be complicit in genocide, and that it is clear, as both
Israel and the U.S. have acknowledged, that Israel’s unfolding genocide
could not happen without U.S. weapons and diplomatic cover. </span></p><p><span>Since
the complaint was filed, Israel’s siege and assault has killed over
14,700 more Palestinians, for a total of 25,700 people, and injured over
36,250 more, for a total of 63,740. The U.S. has continued to transfer
millions of dollars worth of weapons and ammunition. A previous filing
in the case cites reports from early December that the United States had
transferred to Israel at least 15,000 bombs, and more than 50,000 155mm
artillery shells, which are inherently indiscriminate. </span></p><p><span>Co-counsel </span><strong>Marc Van Der Hout </strong><span>of
Van Der Hout, LLP in San Francisco said after court, “The testimony of
our clients today and that of Dr. Trachtenberg was both heart-wrenching
and compelling. Defendants merely argued in response that whether or not
there is an unfolding genocide by Israel in Gaza that the U.S. is
assisting, no court has jurisdiction to tell the president what he can
and cannot do. But as this administration itself has argued countless
times, no president is above the law, and it </span><em><span>is</span></em><span> up to the courts to make sure the executive branch follows the law. That is what we are asking Judge White to do.”<br></span><span><br></span><span>The
complaint was brought by the Palestinian human rights groups Al-Haq and
Defense for Children International – Palestine; Palestinians who live
in Gaza – Dr. Omar Al-Najjar, Ahmed Abu Artema, and Mohammed Abu Rokbeh;
and Palestinians in the U.S. with family members who live in Gaza –
Mohammad Monadel Herzallah, Laila Elhaddad, Waeil Elbhassi, Bassim
Elkarra, and “A.N.” They are seeking an emergency court order to halt
U.S. support for Israel’s genocidal assault. </span></p><p><span>A recording of the arguments and testimony will be available on the </span><a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/judicial-administration/cameras-courts" target="_blank"><span>court’s website</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>For more information, see the Center for Constitutional Rights’ </span><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/defense-children-international-palestine-v-biden"><span>case page</span></a><span>. </span></p><p><em><span>The
Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to
fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and
strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional
Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural
racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental
overreach. Learn more at </span></em><a href="https://ccrjustice.org/"><em><span>ccrjustice.org</span></em></a><em><span>. Follow the Center for Constitutional Rights on social media: </span></em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CenterforConstitutionalRights" target="_blank"><em><span>Center for Constitutional Rights</span></em></a><em><span> on Facebook, </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/theCCR" target="_blank"><em><span>@theCCR</span></em></a><em><span> on Twitter, and </span></em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ccrjustice/" target="_blank"><em><span>ccrjustice</span></em></a><em><span> on Instagram.</span></em></p>
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