Court rejects Palestinians' attempt to stop US aid to Israel over alleged 'genocidal acts' in Gaza

A federal appeals court has rejected an attempt by a Palestinian NGO and Palestinian-Americans to halt U.S. financial and other assistance to Israel for its operations in the Gaza Strip. 

A unanimous panel of the court on Monday rejected the attempt to stop "military, diplomatic, and financial support," concluding the suit is "not justiciable under the political question doctrine."

The doctrine bars courts from entertaining lawsuits that intrude on the exclusive domain of one of the political branches.

The Ninth Circuit, which covers the western U.S., rejected the plaintiffs' attempt to "place our country’s strategic approach to a major world conflict under the auspices of a single federal district court." 

The court instead held that the power to determine U.S. military and diplomatic policy resided in the Executive Branch, in a decision considered a blow to efforts to halt such assistance to Israel. 

The plaintiffs, which included a non-government organization and Gazans, argued U.S. policy toward Israel violated the international Genocide Convention and a federal law criminalizing genocide.

They sought an order preventing the Biden administration "from aiding, abetting, enabling or facilitating Israel’s commission of genocidal acts against the Palestinian people of Gaza."