A federal court in Northern California issued its ruling last Thursday on the lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York and the International Movement for the Defense of Children - Palestine against US President Joseph Biden, his Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense, accusing them of inciting and participating in Israeli genocide in Gaza.

While Judge Jeffrey White's decision dismissed the lawsuit on procedural grounds based on precedent - which he described in his ruling as well-established - that prevents the judiciary from adjudicating matters concerning US foreign policy, the judge made room in his judgment to express his opinion on the case, emphasising that the court sees that Israel may have possibly committed crimes that could amount to genocide.

The court made it clear in its ruling that it was compelled to dismiss the lawsuit, even though this was not its preferred course of action, urging the defendants (the US President and his Defense and State Secretaries) to reconsider the unwavering support provided by the US administration under their leadership to Israel, which may indeed be implicated in acts of genocide according to the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ratified by the United States, thus binding the US government.

White added that the testimonies and descriptions of facts submitted by the plaintiffs and experts, in addition to statements from Israeli officials, "indicate Israel's intent to eradicate an entire people," subjecting the case to the jurisdiction of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The judge concluded his judgment text by affirming that the court concurs with the International Court of Justice that it is plausible that the actions of the Israeli army in Gaza amount to genocide. Judicial precedents and the division of branches of government prevent this court from exercising jurisdiction or considering the subject of the case. Still, the court implored the defendants (the US government) to reconsider the consequences of their “unflagging” support of the military siege on Palestinians in Gaza.

Commenting on the decision, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which joined the lawsuit in December last year with an amicus brief, stated that "this acknowledgement from an American judicial institution is the first of its kind in condemning Israel and not hesitating to describe its crimes in Gaza as potential genocide. It holds the US administration responsible for ending the Israeli war on Gaza, and adds to the historic judicial precedent of the International Court of Justice's decision issued on January 26th to accept the lawsuit filed by South Africa, which acknowledged in its judgment the existence of sufficient prima facie evidence of Israel's commission of acts that may amount to genocide."

The Center for Constitutional Rights and co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit are considering potential next steps, including appealing the court's decision to dismiss the lawsuit.

The case dates to November 13, 2023, when the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York and the law firm "Van Der Holt LLP" filed a lawsuit against the US President and two of his ministers. The case was registered under "International Movement for the Defense of Children - Palestine, et al., vs. Joseph Biden, et al." and numbered 23-cv-05829 before the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Palestinian organisations and individuals joined the case, as did other human rights organisations and legal centres, including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which lodged an amicus brief on December 29th.

A hearing was held last Friday, January 26th, at the District Court in Oakland, California, to consider the application – the same day the International Court of Justice issued its decision accepting the application filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide and ordered Israel to take precautionary measures to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.

The hearing - broadcast to the public via Zoom  - included oral arguments from representatives of the Center for Constitutional Rights and the International Movement for the Defense of Children - Palestine, as well as testimonies from Palestinian citizens and other American individuals of Palestinian descent about the situation in Gaza, in what may be a first of its kind in the history of the American judiciary. The legal representative of the US Department of Justice's defence centred on dismissing the case on procedural grounds due to the court's lack of jurisdiction over matters of foreign policy, considering it "the exclusive jurisdiction of the executive authority alone". The court ultimately sided with this argument, stating in its decision, "It is every individual’s obligation to confront the current siege in Gaza, but it is also this Court’s obligation to remain within the metes and bounds of its jurisdictional scope”.

However, Judge Jeffrey White mentioned in the text of his decision that he was reluctant to dismiss the lawsuit in accordance with the judicial precedents he referred to and the principle of separation of powers. He stated that this case is one of the few cases where the court's preferred outcome is not "accessible to it." Nonetheless, he acknowledged in the judgment that the “incontrovertible” evidence available to the court “comports with the finding of the International Court of Justice”, indicating that what the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are subjected to by the Israeli army “may plausibly constitute a genocide in violation of international law”.

You can find the Egyptian Initiative's statement on the lawsuit published before the hearing on Friday, January 26th, at this link.

You can also find additional material about the case in English on the Center for Constitutional Rights website here.

The full recording of the hearing and arguments is on the court's website.

The court's decision issued on January 31st, 2024.