Sign to Congress and the Biden administration: Stop shielding Israel from accountability for war crimes
Sign now to demand Congress and the Biden administration stop shielding Israel’s government from accountability as it commits genocide. Instead of vetoing United Nations resolutions or undermining the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, our government’s leaders must uphold U.S. and international law by ending U.S. military assistance to Israel.
Just days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop military operations in Rafah, Israel’s military dropped U.S. bombs on multiple Rafah refugee camps, burning children alive with their families in tents.
Many of the Palestinians sheltering in these tents have already been forced to flee multiple times, including over the past few weeks—to areas that Israel designated as “safe zones.” But nowhere is safe in Gaza.
President Biden previously warned that attacks on Rafah could cross his “red line” and prompt pauses on certain weapons shipments. But his administration has made clear in recent days that the latest atrocities haven’t crossed a red line for him. Many of us are wondering: Where is the red line? What will stop U.S. leaders’ support for this genocide?
Israel’s government has committed multiple war crimes this week alone, including bombing an ambulance and a field hospital in Rafah, blocking crucial humanitarian aid through Rafah’s border crossing with Egypt, and targeting journalists and aid workers.
Rather than condemning these horrors or implementing consequences, President Biden’s administration and members of Congress are trying to stop international legal bodies from holding Israel accountable for its human rights violations.
For decades, the U.S. government has helped ensure that Israel can commit atrocities against Palestinians with impunity, including by blocking attempts at accountability in the United Nations.
Now, Israel keeps refusing to comply with binding orders from the UN’S International Court of Justice to stop the violence and to stop blocking humanitarian aid. Instead of enforcing the binding orders from the world’s top court, President Biden and U.S. Congresspeople continue to unconditionally fund and arm the Israeli military.
Citing well-documented war crimes such as starving civilians and intentionally directing attacks against civilians, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor recently applied for arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister.
President Biden called the ICC prosecutor’s action “outrageous,” and his spokespeople publicly oppose the move. Secretary of State Antony Blinken even said he welcomed working with GOP Senator Lindsay Graham to “support a bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC.”
Top Republican Senators recently sent a threatening letter to ICC officials, saying: “Target Israel and we will target you. If you move forward … we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States. You have been warned.”
Senator Lindsay Graham has met with Israel’s Prime Minister and President to talk about undermining the ICC, and he said the International Court of Justice (which is pursuing a genocide case) can “go to hell.”
The ICC’s current chief prosecutor recently warned that he will act against “attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence the officials of this Court.” He said, “such threats, even when not acted upon, may also constitute” a violation of law.
Please sign now to tell U.S. Congresspeople and the Biden administration: Stop enabling Israel’s government to commit war crimes with impunity. Stop vetoing United Nations resolutions and stop undermining the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Instead, you must abide by and enforce international law, which prohibits war crimes and genocide.