The Biden administration is on trial in the United States for failure to prevent the “unfolding genocide” in Gaza. On Friday, lawyers for the Biden administration argued the court lacks the proper jurisdiction to decide the case, while Palestinians and Americans testified about atrocities committed by Israel with American support. “I can’t think of another time where, in a U.S. federal court, Palestinians have been on the witness stand, one after the other after the other, describing their experiences under Israeli occupation,” says Diala Shamas, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the case against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in November. “Being Palestinians in America necessitates our involvement in this case,” says Laila El-Haddad, a Palestinian writer who testified in court about her family’s experience under Israeli assault. “It obligates us to do everything we can to take every possible recourse, including legal recourse, to try and put an end to this, since it’s our tax dollars.”

The Biden administration is on trial in the United States for failure to prevent the “unfolding genocide” in Gaza. On Friday, lawyers for the Biden administration argued the court lacks the proper jurisdiction to decide the case, while Palestinians and Americans testified about atrocities committed by Israel with American support. “I can’t think of another time where, in a U.S. federal court, Palestinians have been on the witness stand, one after the other after the other, describing their experiences under Israeli occupation,” says Diala Shamas, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the case against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in November. “Being Palestinians in America necessitates our involvement in this case,” says Laila El-Haddad, a Palestinian writer who testified in court about her family’s experience under Israeli assault. “It obligates us to do everything we can to take every possible recourse, including legal recourse, to try and put an end to this, since it’s our tax dollars.”

edit for useful links:

Defense for Children International-Palestine v. Biden - Court Videos

lawsuit (PDF)

seeking a court order (PDF)

a court brief (PDF)

  • MelllvarEnglish
    0•10 months ago

    The Biden administration is on trial in the United States for failure to prevent the “unfolding genocide” in Gaza.

    How is this even a justiciable question?

    • roastedDeflatorOP
      1•10 months ago

      I am pretty sure this is not the way it was written in the original filing. Apart from that some clarifications are given in the sentences that follow the first one, the one quoted.

      edit: found the following and thought of sharing .

      Defense for Children International-Palestine v. Biden || uscourts.gov link with court videos

      Plaintiffs, representing Palestinian human rights organizations and individuals, sue the US Government under international human rights law for its failure to exercise influence over Israel to prevent genocide.

    • @FlowVoidEnglish
      0•10 months ago

      The Friday hearing was about the government’s motion to dismiss, basically arguing that this is not a justiciable question.

      So we’ll have an answer to your question soon enough.

        • @FlowVoidEnglish
          0•10 months ago

          The MTD is one of the first things that a judge needs to decide, and it was argued by the government at that hearing:

          It is not the court’s role to sit in judgment of U.S. foreign policy decisions concerning the conflict in Gaza or to assess whether Israel has transgressed limits imposed by international law

          Right after that quote in the article, you can find a link to the full MTD.

          • roastedDeflatorOP
            1•10 months ago

            The MTD is one of the first things that a judge needs to decide

            That makes sense.

            It’s just that the way your initial comment was:

            The Friday hearing was about the government’s motion to dismiss

            made me think that this was the only thing discussed.

            So briefly, on Friday started the hearings of the case Defense for Children International-Palestine v. Biden, and Biden’s defense lawyer said their piece, which was -at least in part- their MTD.

            (I haven’t watched all the videos yet. Will do to have a better understanding of the case.)