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
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AWARDS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
The Bio
Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride
She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.
Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years
Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves
She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Brief scores:
Manchester City 2
Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'
Crystal Palace 3
Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)
Man of the Match: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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