Blinken, Biden and Austin in March, 2024 -- public domain image
Two US based organizations -- Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and CODEPINK -- are calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into former U.S. officials President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin "for their accessorial roles in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza".
DAWN submitted a 172-page communication to the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan while CODEPINK has launched a petition: Tell the ICC: Investigate the Biden Admin for Aiding War Crimes! - CODEPINK - Women for Peace
DAWN: Prepared with the support of ICC-registered lawyers and other war crimes experts, the submission details a pattern of deliberate and purposeful decisions by these officials to provide military, political, and public support to facilitate Israeli crimes in Gaza; this support included at least $17.9 billion of weapons transfers, intelligence sharing, targeting assistance, diplomatic protection, and official endorsement of Israeli crimes, despite knowledge of how such support had and would substantially enable grave abuses.
"There are solid grounds to investigate Joe Biden, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin for complicity in Israel's crimes," said Reed Brody, DAWN board member and veteran war crimes lawyer. "The bombs dropped on Palestinian hospitals, schools and homes are American bombs, and the campaign of murder and persecution has been carried out with American support. U.S. officials have been aware of exactly what Israel has been doing, and yet their support never stopped."...
"Not only did Biden, Blinken and Secretary Austin ignore the overwhelming evidence of Israel's grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their own staff recommendations to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it could carry out its atrocities," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN. "They provided Israel not only with essential military support but equally essential political support by vetoing multiple ceasefire resolutions at the UN Security Council to ensure Israel could continue its crimes."
DAWN: Prepared with the support of ICC-registered lawyers and other war crimes experts, the submission details a pattern of deliberate and purposeful decisions by these officials to provide military, political, and public support to facilitate Israeli crimes in Gaza; this support included at least $17.9 billion of weapons transfers, intelligence sharing, targeting assistance, diplomatic protection, and official endorsement of Israeli crimes, despite knowledge of how such support had and would substantially enable grave abuses.
"There are solid grounds to investigate Joe Biden, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin for complicity in Israel's crimes," said Reed Brody, DAWN board member and veteran war crimes lawyer. "The bombs dropped on Palestinian hospitals, schools and homes are American bombs, and the campaign of murder and persecution has been carried out with American support. U.S. officials have been aware of exactly what Israel has been doing, and yet their support never stopped."...
"Not only did Biden, Blinken and Secretary Austin ignore the overwhelming evidence of Israel's grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their own staff recommendations to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it could carry out its atrocities," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN. "They provided Israel not only with essential military support but equally essential political support by vetoing multiple ceasefire resolutions at the UN Security Council to ensure Israel could continue its crimes."
Since October 2023, Israel has carried out indiscriminate bombardment, mass killings of civilians, the targeting of hospitals, and deliberate starvation of Palestinians in Gaza — all of which constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute. The Biden administration had been a knowing and active participant in these crimes through actions including but not limited to:
Providing direct, unconditional military aid, weapons, and intelligence to Israel as it carries out its systematic attacks on civilians.
Obstructing ceasefire efforts and repeatedly vetoing UN resolutions aimed at ending Israel’s genocidal campaign.
Joe Biden: Ensured that U.S. weapons and money kept flowing to Israel, even when it violated domestic and international law. In some cases, he bypassed congressional review to approve arms shipments to allow Israel to receive U.S. weapons unconditionally.
Antony Blinken: Despite repeated warnings from his own staff and U.S. agencies that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza — a condition for withholding weapons, Blinken did not withhold any assistance to Israel.
Lloyd Austin: Ignored reports from his own department citing evidence for Israel’s crimes in Gaza and continued providing unconditional military assistance to Israel and public endorsement of Israeli authorities' actions.
According to ICC precedent, leaders who knowingly assist in crimes, even if they do not commit them directly, bear legal responsibility.
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