Fulfilling the U.S.’s obligation as a signatory to the Genocide Convention will require complete adherence to international humanitarian principles that demand the prevention and punishment of genocide, and a total change in the implementation of foreign policy as it relates to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 9 1948, the Genocide Convention serves as a cornerstone of the international human rights framework. The treaty obligates its 153 signatories to “..prevent genocide, prohibit commission of, conspiracy to commit, direct and public incitement to commit, attempt to commit, and complicity in genocide.”1 The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has held that complicity in genocide involves “the provision of means to enable or faciliate the commission of crime,” including offering “aid or assistance.”2 The Court has continued to uphold that a state must, at the minimum threshold, have acted with knowledge that the offender possessed a “special intent, or dolus specialis, of "destroying, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group."3 Both Israel and the United States are signatories of the Genocide Convention and both are obligated to criminalize and punish genocide. Although President Biden has stated that “preventing future genocides is both a moral duty and a matter of national and global importance,” his administration has at least twice bypassed congressional review standards and used an emergency determination to provide more than $250 million in military equipment to Israel since October 7, 2023. 4,5 Further, U.S. weapons and military vehicles, including white phosphorus artillery shells, fighter jets, guided- missile destroyers, munitions, and iron dome receptors have all been used to launch towards Gaza, contributing to over 44,000 people killed, with some studies listing the death toll as closer to 186,000 people, and almost 2.3 million people displaced since the start of the war. 6,7
Commitment to international law and international human rights principles demands a greater effort to make an assessment of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and hold perpetrators of genocide accountable, even when the perpetrator is an ally and doing so may inconvenience the U.S.’s foreign policy relations. To strengthen public policy recommendations and drive U.S. action, the Palestine Center for Public Policy highlighted the following ways the U.S. has failed in its commitment to upholding the Geneva Convention.
The U.S. has exercised its veto power 49 times on resolutions related to Israel at the UN Security Council.8 Since October 7, 2023 four resolutions have been brought forth by members of the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza.9 On October 18, 2023, the U.S. vetoed a resolution advanced by Brazil that called for “humanitarian pauses” following an Israeli air strike on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in northern Gaza.10 The resolution, if adopted, would have allowed full and unobstructed access for United Nations agencies and contributors to facilitate the provision of aid and other essential support. Despite receiving support from 12 council members, the U.S. justified its veto by emphasizing the need to let diplomatic efforts “play out” and pointing to the resolution’s failure to acknowledge Israel’s right to self-defense.11 On December 8, 2023, an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” resolution was advanced by the United Arab Emirates with the support of over 90 states.12 Although there were 13 votes in favor, the U.S. vetoed the resolution, with Deputy Permanent Representative Robert A. Wood contending that the resolution failed to include language condemning “Hamas’ offensive terrorist attack” and that “an unconditional ceasefire would simply be dangerous.”13
On February 20, 2024, just days before Israel launched an invasion into Rafah—a southern city in Gaza with 1.5 million Palestinians and no evacuation route—Algeria proposed an immediate humanitarian ceasefire resolution.14 Despite backing from 13 of the 15 member states of the UN Security Council, the U.S. vetoed the resolution, claiming that such a resolution would “jeopardize sensitive negotiations” surrounding the release of hostages.15 More recently, on November 20, 2024, the U.S. vetoed a resolution from the 10 elected members of the U.N. Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire.16 If adopted, the resolution would have called for urgent entry for basic services for Palestinians in Gaza, at a time when Israel has blocked 83 percent of food aid since the beginning of the war and when over 1.8 million in Gaza are suffering from “extremely critical” standards of hunger.17,18 The U.S. justified rejecting the resolution by echoing earlier statements, emphasizing that the resolution failed to address the release of hostages.19 An immediate and unconditional ceasefire is an essential starting point to initiate the end of the genocide in Gaza, and the U.S. under its obligation to the Geneva Convention must take all possible measures to do so.
The U.S. has continued to vow to provide unwavering economic and military assistance and “all appropriate means of support,” to Israel to further its campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza.20 Since October 7, 2023 the U.S. has specifically implemented legislation to distribute at least $12.5 million in military aid to Israel. 21
Analysts from Brown University further report that Israel received $17.9 billion in military aid from the U.S., accounting for the additional expense to the U.S. Defense Department for restocking the supply of weapons.22 Through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) Program, a government program that provides grants for the acquisition of U.S. defense equipment, Israel has been able to receive around $24 billion in military support, and possesses around 600 active FMF cases.23 Overall, U.S. assistance constitutes about 15 percent of Israel’s defense budget.24
On October 12, 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken held meetings with Israeli officials, only hours before Israel demanded the evacuation of 1.1 million residents in northern Gaza.25 Blinken publicly declared that the U.S. was “working urgently to get Israel what it needs including munitions and iron drone interceptors,” while deploying aircraft carriers accompanied by powerful strike groups to the region.26 Two days later, on October 14, 2023, 70 people were killed by an Israeli army strike while traveling on Salah-al-Din Road, a pathway designated as a so-called “safe route” for Palestinians fleeing Gaza.27 Nonetheless, the U.S. revealed the deployment of a second carrier strike group, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group, which comprises a guided-missile cruiser and two guided-missile destroyers.28 Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin further directed 2,000 U.S. military troops to prepare for deployment in support of Israel, only strengthening the U.S.'s material and physical commitment to backing Israel.29
The U.S. has violated the Geneva convention through its economic and military support of Israel. A sincere dedication to international human rights treaties and principles requires the complete halt to all economic, material, and physical aid to Israel and its military operations. The U.S. has violated its own legislation and broken the Leahy Law, a U.S. law which prohibits military aid to foreign military units that perpetuate human rights abuses.30 The U.S,’s exception for Israeli military operations contradicts international legal principles, and the imposition of an arms embargo is essential for not only the safety of Palestinian lives, but the longevity of international human rights and justice.
Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) in 1949, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, is one of the predominant agencies providing direct relief for Palestinian refugees.31 UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organizations in Gaza, and oversees schools for more than half a million refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza.32 In addition to increasing access for education, UNRWA provides health care, social services, improvement of camp infrastructure, and more. UNRWA’s main source of funding comes from donations made by U.N. member states, with a small percentage contributed from the U.N.’s overall budget.33
On January 26, 2024 Israel alleged that several UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas’s October 7 operations.34 Israel did not provide public details about the source of these allegations, but claim that these employees entered Israel and aided in the kidnapping of hostages.35 Following these accusations, at least 10 countries suspended their funding of UNRWA operations, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, and others.36 UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths urged the reversal of decisions to revoke support for UNRWA, stating, “our humanitarian response for the Occupied Palestinian Territory is completely dependent on UNRWA being adequately funded and operational.”37
Under the Genocide Convention, donor countries have a duty to prevent genocide, and a member state that consciously assists another member state’s wrongful actions becomes accountable for those actions.Legal experts argue that the ICJ’s provisional measures suggest that the deployment of humanitarian assistance is essential to preventing genocide, and as such, the withholding of contributions may be interpreted as a failure to stop genocide.38 Given that the U.S. was a major donor to UNRWA operations, the decision to freeze funds—despite knowing it could severely worsen living conditions for Palestinians and lead to "physical destruction"—can be argued to conflict with the responsibility to prevent genocide.39
The U.S.’s decision to suspend UNRWA funding until March of 2025 violates their duty to prevent genocide under the Geneva Convention. Congress should take absolute measures to pass the UNRWA Emergency Restoration Act and reaffirm the U.S.’s commitment to addressing humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the U.S. have not issued any statements urging Israel to halt its assault on the Palestinians in Gaza. Rather, they have offered unwavering affirmation of Israel’s genocide, siege, and weaponization of starvation, despite possessing the political power to influence Israel’s actions. The U.S.’s backing of Israel’s genocide is exemplified by Secretary Blinken’s statement that “[w]e will always be there by your side,” made days after the weaponization of white phosphorus bombs on vulnerable Palestinian communities in Gaza.40
The U.S. and Israel are powerful political allies, and have significant diplomatic, military, and economic partnerships, as evidenced by the U.S.’s overwhelming contribution of military assistance it provides Israel. The U.S.’s financial backing of Israel points to the U.S’s clear ability to implement conditions on its aid and allyship that are in alignment with international humanitarian principles. The U.S.'s influence on Israel’s policies is clear from a statement by Israeli Minister of Energy Israel Katz, who said that Israel's decision to resume water supply to southern Gaza was a result of a phone call between Former President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.41
On October 13, 2024, just days before the U.S. presidential elections, former President Joe Biden issued an ultimatum, demanding that Israel allow humanitarian aid into Gaza within 30 days or face a withdrawal of U.S. military support.42
After the 30 day deadline passed, a group of 8 human rights organizations, including Anera and Save the Children, issued a report detailing Israel’s violation of the U.S. proposed criteria for entry of humanitarian aid.43
The U.S. has continued to vow unconditional support for Israel’s actions, despite repeated findings of Israel’s war crimes and genocidal intent and their ability to place conditions on the assistance they provide. Their lack of scrutiny for Israel’s actions and their creation of exceptions to international humanitarian law to preserve Israel’s siege on Gaza constitutes complicity in genocide. The U.S. must hold Israel accountable for its war crimes, despite the illusion of inconvenience and setbacks such a decision may hold.
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