Lawsuit claims US failed to rescue Palestinian Americans in Gaza
Nine Palestinian Americans filed a lawsuit against the US government on December 19th, claiming that the country failed to free them or their relatives who were trapped in Gaza.
The lawsuit alleges that the state department has treated Palestinian Americans unfairly by leaving them in the hotspot. It claims that the country would put more effort towards rescuing and protecting Americans of different origins in similar situations, according to Asharq Al-Awsat via Reuters.
This is the second lawsuit filed against the US government this week, as five Palestinians from Gaza, the West Bank and the US filed a lawsuit on December 17th against the government providing aid to the the Israeli military.
According to a US state department spokesperson, the US government does not comment on pending litigation and the welfare of American citizens overseas is a “top priority.”
The second lawsuit was announced by the Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) as well as attorney Maria Kari. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
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The lawsuit claims the complainants’ rights towards equal protection under the US constitution has been breached, denying them the benefits of “normal and typical evacuation efforts [which] the federal government extends to Americans who are not Palestinians.”
The suit discusses instances of the US government rescuing its citizens from conflict areas in Lebanon, Sudan, Afghanistan and refers to President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as defendants.
But the state department spokesperson also said the US has rescued Americans from global danger zones, including Gaza.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 45,000 people, Asharq Al-Awsat reports via the Gaza health ministry.
On October 7th 2023, Hamas militants attacked Israel, taking around 250 hostages and killing 1,200 people, according to tallies from Israel.
On November 13th 2023, Palestinian Americans filed a lawsuit against Biden’s administration over its alliance with Israel and its refusal to stop the killings of Palestinians in Gaza.
Asharq Al-Awsat, Reuters
