Over 3,000 lawyers affiliated with the US-based Centre for Constitutional Rights have released an extensive report detailing allegations of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
This report comes after the United States exercised its veto power to block a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that aimed to condemn both Hamas's attack on Israel and all acts of violence against civilians while also calling for humanitarian access to Gaza.
The document, prepared by a coalition of 3,300 lawyers, presents a compelling argument that Israel is actively engaging in or striving to commit genocide within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with a specific focus on the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The report highlights the US's responsibility under Article 1 of the 1948 Genocide Convention to prevent genocidal actions.
It asserts that, through its unconditional military, diplomatic, and political support of Israel, the United States not only fails to prevent genocide but is also complicit in it.
The report states, "The United States has been obligated, from the time of learning of the serious risk of genocide of the Palestinian people, to exercise its influence on Israel to prevent the crime. The United States is not only failing to uphold its obligation to prevent the commission of genocide, but there is a plausible and credible case to be made that the United States' actions to further the Israeli military operation, closure, and campaign against the Palestinian population in Gaza rise to the level of complicity in the crime under international law."
It further emphasizes that "The United States – and US citizens, including and up to the President – can be held responsible for their role in furthering genocide."
The release of this report coincides with President Biden's efforts to secure additional military assistance for Israel without any conditions.
The document will be submitted to national and international stakeholders, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Additionally, copies of the report will be dispatched to President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and various US officials and relevant agencies.
