US judge urges Biden to examine support for ‘plausible genocide’ in Gaza
Al Jazeera
Despite the dismissal of a case accusing US officials of complicity in ‘genocide’ in Gaza, advocates say ruling is a victory.
A United States federal court has dismissed a case accusing President Joe Biden and other senior US officials of being complicit in Israel’s alleged genocide in Gaza.
Still, the court’s decision (PDF) urged Biden and his colleagues to examine “the results of their unflagging support” for Israel, including its human rights implications.
US District Court Judge Jeffrey White dismissed the case on procedural grounds late on Wednesday, citing the division of powers under the US Constitution. He said in his decision that “disputes over foreign policy are considered nonjusticiable political questions” and fall outside his jurisdiction.
“There are rare cases in which the preferred outcome is inaccessible to the Court. This is one of those cases. The Court is bound by precedent and the division of our coordinate branches of government to abstain from exercising jurisdiction in this matter,” he wrote.
But White added that, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said in a provisional ruling last month, “it is plausible that Israel’s conduct amounts to genocide.”
