Case details here https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/defense-children-international-palestine-v-biden
Watch video of hearing including witness testimony on 26 January 2024, Juge White, here:
Watch video of hearing and witnesses before Judge White on 26 January 2024 here
https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/defense-children-international-palestine-v-biden
“IN A MOMENTOUS day for the quest to keep Israel and its allies accountable for its brutal war on Gaza, members of leading Palestinian human rights groups, residents of Gaza, and Palestinian Americans argued in a U.S. District Court on Friday that the Biden administration should halt its financial and military support for Israel and uphold its obligations to prevent genocide.
The arguments came in a lawsuitOpens in a new tab that the Center for Constitutional Rights, or CCR, filed in November against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, charging them with complicity and failure to prevent the “unfolding genocide” in the occupied strip. Testifying either in person at the Oakland, California, courthouse or remotely from Palestine, the plaintiffs spoke for nearly three hours about the deliberate devastation wrought by Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The hearing commenced hours after the International Court of Justice in The Hague found that it’s plausible that Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa. While the United Nations court fell short of ordering an immediate ceasefire, a panel of judges delivered a historic set of rulings and denied Israel’s request to dismiss the case. A final resolution in that case is expected to take years.
Lawyers involved with the lawsuit playing out in federal court said that the ICJ ruling bolsters their case. Their lawsuit argues that Biden, Blinken, and Austin are liable under U.S. lawOpens in a new tab for failing to uphold their obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza. In Oakland, dozens of people lined up outside the courthouse hours before the hearing on Friday, according to organizers on the ground, while the Zoom stream reached its capacity of 1,000 people tuning in.”
See full report by Alice Speri
NOTE: Judge White announced that the complete unredacted video of the hearing will be placed on court website and apologised that zoom only provided licence for 1,000 viewers this time.
Watch video of hearing and witnesses before Judge White on 26 January 2024 here
https://www.uscourts.gov/cameras-courts/defense-children-international-palestine-v-biden
