Palestinians are suing the US State Department over Washington's support for the Israeli army in its war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed thousands of people and caused a humanitarian crisis, Reuters reported, citing court documents.
The lawsuit, filed in the District Court of the District of Columbia, alleges that the State Department, under Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, deliberately circumvented US human rights law to continue funding and supporting Israeli military units accused of atrocities in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The law in question prohibits the provision of US military aid to individuals or security forces that commit serious human rights violations.
South Africa and the international humanitarian organization „Amnesty international“ accused Israel of committing genocide and war crimes. Israel denies these accusations.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 people, according to the local health ministry. Israel's invasion of the strip has also displaced almost the entire population of the enclave of 2.3 million people and caused a humanitarian crisis, Reuters reports.
The war was triggered by an attack by militants of the Palestinian group “Hamas“ against Israel on October 7, 2023, when 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage, according to Tel Aviv.
The lawsuit in the District Court of the District of Columbia was filed by five Palestinians from Gaza, the West Bank and the United States. The main plaintiff is a teacher from Gaza who has been displaced seven times in the current war and has lost 20 family members, the documents show.
The US State Department declined to comment and referred journalists to the Justice Department, which also had no comment at the time, Reuters noted.