DAWN for ICC to Investigate US Officials’ War Crimes in Gaza

Former President of the United States Joe Biden addresses the 79th Session of General Assembly debate in September 2024. Credit- UN Photo-Laura Jarriel

By Oritro Karim

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 2025 (IPS) - On February 24, the human rights organization Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate former U.S. President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, among other U.S. government officials, for aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes that deliberately infringed on human rights in the Gaza Strip. This poses significant implications for the future of U.S. foreign policy and the role of impunity in world conflicts.

“There are solid grounds to investigate Joe Biden, Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin for complicity in Israel’s crimes. The bombs dropped on Palestinian hospitals, schools and homes are American bombs, the campaign of murder and persecution has been carried out with American support. US officials have been aware of exactly what Israel is doing, and yet their support never stopped,” said Reed Brody, a human rights lawyer and DAWN board member.

This recent action marks the first time that a U.S. organization has submitted a referral for members of the U.S. government for alleged complicity in war crimes. According to DAWN’s communication to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan on January 19, U.S. officials have contributed over 17.9 billion dollars in funding the transfer of weapons, intelligence, and the diplomatic protection of Israel, despite being aware of the possibility of Israel using these funds to facilitate abuse in Gaza.

“Not only did Biden, Blinken and Secretary Austin ignore and justify the overwhelming evidence of Israel’s grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their own staff recommendations to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it could carry out its atrocities. They provided Israel with not only essential military support but equally essential political support by vetoing multiple ceasefire resolutions at the UN Security Council to ensure Israel could continue its crimes,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN.

Figures from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) show that Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid since 1948, receiving approximately 310 billion dollars in funding, the majority of which has been allocated for Israel’s military. Prior to the eruption of the Israel-Hamas War in 2023, the U.S. has supplied Israel with roughly 3.9 billion in military assistance. This number has skyrocketed to 12.5 billion dollars in 2024. However, funding for Israel’s economic sector has gradually decreased since 2008, falling to 453.9 thousand dollars in 2024.

Additionally, the U.S. has provided diplomatic support for Israeli officials. According to a spokesperson for DAWN, the U.S. government vetoed seven United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions that would have issued sanctions on Israeli conduct in the Gaza Strip. The U.S.’s public support of Israel has also generated worldwide sympathy for Israeli war crimes, including indiscriminate bombardment and blockages of essential humanitarian aid.

Leahy Law is a U.S. statutory provision on the Departments of State and Defense that prohibits the U.S. from supplying security assistance to nations that are likely to commit serious war crimes. Despite this, Israel has never been denied funding. “What the (U.S.) state department is asking the world to believe is that no Israeli unit has ever committed a gross violation of human rights. This flies in the face of mountains of human rights reports and journalistic investigations. It flies in the face of the state department’s own human rights reports,” said Whitson in December 2024.

DAWN’s call for an ICC investigation comes after President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order that would prosecute ICC officials for investigating Israel’s actions in Gaza. Though the U.S. is not a member of the ICC, Palestine falls under ICC jurisdiction and perpetrators can be prosecuted regardless of nationality.

DAWN is claiming that this order constitutes obstruction of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute and could entail Trump being held criminally accountable. Trump’s proposed plans to evacuate the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace 2.2 million Palestinians could also cause Trump to be charged with orchestrating war crimes and crimes of aggression under Article 8 of the Rome Salute.

“Trump isn’t just obstructing justice; he’s trying to burn down the courthouse to prevent anyone from holding Israeli criminals accountable. His plan to forcibly displace all Palestinians from Gaza should also merit ICC investigation—not just for aiding and abetting Israeli crimes but for ordering forcible transfer, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute,” said Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director.

The measures to investigate high ranking U.S. officials has been described as “historical” by DAWN and sets a new precedent surrounding accountability and U.S. foreign policy. Whitson told an IPS correspondent that “government officials at all levels around the world should be on notice that they too can be prosecuted by the court for aiding and abetting odious crimes. No one should be above the law, least of all officials from the powerful governments of the world who think they can get away with anything”.

Whitson adds that DAWN’s call for an investigation has significant implications for the ICC. If the ICC fails to ensure accountability for war crimes in Gaza, it stands to lose legitimacy and trust from the international community. Additionally, an end to impunity for U.S. crimes can prevent further suffering in Gaza and discourage other world leaders, particularly Trump, from committing violations.

“While our referral to the ICC focuses on President Biden and his top officials, we hope that the Trump administration sees this as a wake-up call that they, too, may face individual criminal liability for their role in aiding and abetting Israel’s crimes in Gaza. The pursuit of justice does not end with one administration—any U.S. official who has contributed to these atrocities must be held accountable under international law,” said Jarrar.

IPS UN Bureau Report