ICC urged to probe Biden over Gaza war crimes, investigate Trump for obstructing justice

A US-based human rights organization has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate former US president Joe Biden for “aiding and abetting” war crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip, and incumbent US President Donald Trump for “obstructing justice.”

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) said in a statement on Monday that it had submitted a 172-page request to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan on January 19.

The request called on ICC to investigate Biden as well as former secretary of state Antony Blinken and former defense secretary Lloyd Austin, for their “accessorial roles in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.”

Under Biden, the US provided Israel with $17.9 billion in military aid from October 2023 to October 2024 alone, when the Tel Aviv regime was waging a genocidal war on Gaza.

The figure was around six times the volume of Washington’s routine annual military aid to the occupying entity.

In January, several former US officials admitted that Israel couldn’t have committed war crimes in Gaza without the US military support.

DAWN’s request, reportedly prepared with the assistance of ICC-registered lawyers and war crimes experts, says that the former US officials breached articles of the Rome Statute, the court’s founding document, through their support for Israel.

This is the first time a US-based group has called on the ICC to investigate a former president.

According to the DAWN’s submission, the Biden administration’s $17.9 billion in military aid, diplomatic support, such as vetoing several resolutions at the UN General Assembly and Security Council, intelligence cooperation, and approval of Israel’s war on Gaza were “deliberate and purposeful decisions” by the administration.

“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,” said Reed Brody, a veteran war crimes lawyer and DAWN board member.

DAWN’s document stresses that US officials knowingly overlooked the dire situation in the blockaded Palestinian territory, despite public reports of Israeli crimes against civilians, and were “undoubtedly” aware of the risk of Israeli war crimes from the outset of the entity’s genocidal aggression.

Shocking details of Israeli army’s massacre of 90 civilians from Juha family in Gaza

A Euro-Med Monitor investigation has revealed shocking details of the Israeli army’s massacre of 90 Palestinian civilians from the Juha family in Gaza during its 15-month-long genocidal war.

Elsewhere in the statement, the Washington-based rights group also said that Trump’s sanctions against the ICC could subject him to “individual criminal liability for obstruction of justice.”

“On February 6, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order for sanctions against ICC officials to punish them for their investigation of Israeli officials and on February 13, the Treasury Department sanctioned ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan under this order.

“This order could subject President Trump to individual criminal liability for obstruction of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute. Trump has also proposed a plan to forcibly displace all Palestinians from Gaza and to take over the territory,” DAWN said.

The rights group added that if Trump’s scheme of relocating some 2.3 million Gazans is “implemented”, it would also subject him “to individual liability for war crimes and the crime of aggression under Article 8 of the Rome Statute.”

“Trump isn’t just obstructing justice; he’s trying to burn down the courthouse to prevent anyone from holding Israeli criminals accountable,” said Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director.

“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 a forcible transfer, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute,” Jarrar added.

Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 48,319 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, with another 111,749 injured.

Many victims remain trapped under rubble, as rescue teams struggle to access affected areas, raising concerns that the death toll will continue to climb.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk