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Lawyers warn US-backed aid group against ‘complicity’ in Israeli crimes
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) says it has notified the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that it could be held liable for “complicity in Israel’s war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against Palestinians” in Gaza.
As we’ve been reporting, at least 224 Palestinians have been killed trying to get food and other supplies at GHF-run distribution centres, where Israeli forces have routinely opened fire on crowds of desperate aid seekers over the past weeks.
CCR said the US- and Israeli-backed foundation could face a civil lawsuit, as well as possible criminal prosecution in other countries and legal action at international bodies.
“As Palestinians now face mass starvation, Israel has teamed up with GHF to make accessing food not only dangerous and potentially deadly but also a tool of forced displacement,” Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff lawyer at CCR, said in a statement.
“If GHF continues its militarised aid operations, it must be prepared to face the legal consequences, whether in the United States or beyond.”
US group calls on Trump to clarify envoy’s Palestinian state remarks
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is asking US President Donald Trump to clarify his position on the creation of a Palestinian state after the US envoy to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that was no longer a goal.
Asked in an interview with Bloomberg News published on Tuesday whether a Palestinian state remains a goal of US policy, Huckabee answered: “I don’t think so.”
The US ambassador is a staunch supporter of Israel who has said there is “no such thing” as illegal Israeli settlements or the West Bank.
In a statement, CAIR’s National Executive Director Nihad Awad said the Trump administration must clarify whether Huckabee’s recent comments on a Palestinian state “are his personal views or the new stance of the administration”.
“Is it now our nation’s policy that Palestinians are the only people on earth who do not deserve to live in a sovereign state with full rights and human dignity?” Awad asked. “Our government’s complicity with Israel’s genocide is currently denying life and freedom to Palestinians. Will it also deny them these rights in perpetuity?”
UN chief ‘seriously concerned’ over US sanctions on ICC judges
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed “serious concern” over the United States’ decision to impose sanctions on four judges from the International Criminal Court (ICC), following its investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel.
“The secretary-general expresses serious concern about the designation of four judges of the International Criminal Court to be sanctioned under the executive order by the United States,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Haq stressed that the UN and ICC are “separate institutions with separate and distinct mandates”, but added: “The United Nations considers the ICC a key pillar of international criminal justice.”
“The secretary-general respects its work and emphasises the importance of the basic principle of judicial independence,” he said.
The US announced the sanctions last week, targeting four ICC judges. In a statement, the US State Department defended the move, saying: “It reflects the seriousness of the threat we face from the ICC’s politicisation and abuse of power.”
