A group of Palestinians has filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden's administration on claims that Washington's support for Israel during the war in Gaza is a breach of US law.
The plaintiffs, including one person in Gaza who has lost 20 family members, are suing the State Department over its refusal to enact a statute known as the Leahy Law, which blocks the US from providing assistance to foreign governments that have committed human rights abuses.
“Collectively, [they] further allege that US assistance directly and significantly enables Israeli security forces to commit [violations of human rights] that cause their imminent harms,” the lawsuit reads.
Ahmed Moor, a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza, told reporters on Tuesday that his “family continues to suffer the direct consequences of the State Department's failure to enforce American law”.
Mr Moor told of a family member who was killed in Gaza and described the many times his loved ones have been displaced since October last year. He said his aunt is living in a tent.
“My family is living a nightmare," he said. "The daily search for food and water is desperate, and they live under a constant fear of the next bombardment or drone attack. The weapons being used against them – the bombs, the artillery, the ammunition, almost all of it – comes from the United States."
The Biden administration increased financial and military support to Israel since it launched military operations in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people.
Israeli actions have since led to the deaths of more than 45,000 people in the Palestinian enclave, according to the local Health Ministry, as well as repeated mass eviction orders and limited humanitarian aid access.
The UN and other aid groups have expressed concerns about famine-like conditions and the spread of disease, and the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over Israeli conduct in the war.
The lawsuit is not the first time the Biden administration has faced questions about its compliance with the Leahy Law. The law is named after former senator Patrick Leahy, who has said US support for Israel is in breach of it.
Last month, Senator Bernie Sanders led a historic vote to block US aid to Israel on claims that Washington's support had violated its own Foreign Assistance Act, on which the Leahy Law's principles build.
The measure failed but picked up significant support from Democrats, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who will soon be the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, which has oversight authority on the State Department.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that he “wasn't aware of [the] case” that named his boss Antony Blinken, and referred news reporters to the Department of Justice.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to The National's request for comment.
Mr Moor said “this lawsuit matters” during briefing hosted by Dawn, a Washington-based non-profit advocating democracy and human rights in the Middle East. The group is supporting the plaintiffs in the case.
Other plaintiffs include Shawan Jabarin, director of Palestinian human rights group Al Haq, and three other US citizens. Al Haq has sued the UK government for its decision not to suspend licences allowing arms exports.
“It's not just about legal principles. It's about saving lives,” Mr Moor said. “It's about preventing more families from experiencing what mine has endured. The State Department's failure to enforce the Leahy Law isn't an abstract policy issue. It has real, devastating consequences for real people.”
The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs would support the US government “materially diminishing Israeli security force units’ capacity to commit such violations by terminating US assistance” or “deterring them” from committing further human rights abuses.
Willy Lowry contributed to this report from Washington
