Lawyers at the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have written to US attorney general Merrick Garland, urging him to investigate Israel for potential war crimes in Gaza as well as the killings of American citizens in the West Bank.

“US courts‬‭ have‬‭ jurisdiction‬‭ over‬‭ the‬‭ more‬‭ than‬‭ 23,000‬‭ US citizens‬‭ currently‬‭ serving‬‭ in‬‭ Israel’s‬‭ armed‬‭ forces,‬‭ along‬‭ with‬‭ IDF‬‭ members‬‭ or‬‭ other‬‭ Israeli‬ officials‬‭ that‬‭ travel‬‭ to‬‭ the‬‭ United‬‭ States,” the unnamed lawyers wrote to Garland, as revealed by Zeteo on Monday.

The DOJ has investigated and brought about sanctions on Russia for the war in Ukraine, and the Palestinian group Hamas, but it has yet to do the same when it comes to Israel and its war on Gaza - which was pointed out by the authors of the letter.

The DOJ, they added, “‬‭has‬‭ appropriately‬‭ demonstrated‬‭ its‬‭ commitment‬‭ to‬‭ upholding‬‭ the‬‭ rule‬‭ of‬‭ law‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ midst‬‭ of‬‭ ongoing‬ geopolitical‬‭ conflicts”, but that “against‬‭ the‬‭ backdrop‬‭ of‬‭ numerous‬‭ potential‬‭ violations‬‭ of‬‭ US‬‭ law‬‭ by‬‭ individuals‬‭ and‬‭ entities‬‭ affiliated‬‭ with‬‭ Israel,‬‭ the‬‭ Department’s‬‭ silence‬‭ and‬‭ apparent‬‭ inaction‬‭ is‬‭ a‬‭ stark‬‭ omission‬”.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    1 month ago

    Suddenly Biden is going to realize he actually does control the DOJ…

    He’ll squash this and go right back to playing the helpless ole grandpa

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      edit-2
      1 month ago

      No need. If there’s anything Garland is good at, it’s ignoring injustice. He’s the quintessential Clintonite Centrist (and a couple other words that also start with c) Attorney General.