by Margaret Kimberley, published on Black Agenda Report, January 31, 2024
The Biden administration colluded with Israel to slander the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine in anticipation of the ICJ ruling against Israel on the charge of genocide. Washington is attempting to cover up genocide by committing the war crime of collective punishment against the people of Gaza.
On December 29, 2023, the Republic of South Africa charged Israel with violating the United Nation’s Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in regards to its assault on the population of Gaza. On January 26, 2024 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that claims of genocide against Israel are plausible and that the killing of Palestinians in Gaza must end. Despite attempts to obfuscate or to claim an Israeli victory, the meaning of the court ruling could not have been clearer.
The ICJ did not use the word “ceasefire” as many people had hoped, but judges did say that the killing must stop. The court did not dismiss the case as Israel asked it to do. All of the parsing in the world cannot dispute the court’s determination.
The Court considers that, with regard to the situation described above, Israel must, in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention, in particular: (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group. The Court recalls that these acts fall within the scope of Article II of the Convention when they are committed with the intent to destroy in whole or in part a group as such (see paragraph 44 above). The Court further considers that Israel must ensure with immediate effect that its military forces do not commit any of the above-described acts.
The Court is also of the view that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip. (Emphasis mine)
Even if one cannot read and understand the ruling, the defeat of Israel is made even clearer by actions of the United States and its allies. On the very day that the ICJ issued its ruling, the State Department announced that the U.S. would temporarily suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) because of Israel’s allegation that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas military action of October 7. The State Department action was quickly followed by similar announcements from the UK, Canada, and the European Union, who followed along like the obedient vassals that they are.
It is interesting that Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the UNRWA after October 7. On November 5, 2023 he posted the following on the X social media platform. “During my visit to Jordan, I spoke with @UNRWA staff in Gaza. I heard about the extraordinary lifesaving work they are doing in the face of extremely difficult conditions. We are working to expedite assistance to them so that they can get it to the Palestinian people.”
By Blinken’s own admission, the absence of U.S. funding ensures that Palestinians in Gaza will go hungry. The U.S. action is in itself a war crime. Withholding food and other aid is a form of collective punishment , in this case because of the alleged actions of twelve people.
Despite its claims of care for humanitarian concerns and talk of private communications with Israel, the Biden administration is obviously supportive of its ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza. The Biden foreign policy team knew full well that the ICJ ruling was a defeat for Israel and thus for the U.S. too. They decided to delegitimize it by keeping food and medical aid away from people whose homes and hospitals have been destroyed. Israel’s war crimes couldn’t be committed without U.S. support and direction, which makes this country equally culpable of all its crimes. It is not coincidental that the anti-UNRWA decision was announced on the same day that the ICJ spoke.
The ICJ ordered Israel to, “…take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Hence the need to trash the UNRWA, which is tasked with providing these needs.
Once again, the United States proves itself to be the world’s rogue nation. In this case it is responsible for helping another nation commit genocide and war crimes and then when the culprit is taken to task, commits even more crimes in an effort to prevent a just resolution of the suffering it caused.
Donald Trump was at least consistent when he removed all federal funding from the UNRWA. Now we are told to put Biden back in the white house, lest Trump’s policies reappear. But Biden has already followed Trump policy in the region, by pursuing the worthless Abraham Accords (getting Gulf state potentates to recognize Israel), keeping the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, and doing everything else that Israel wants. Now they even reverse their own course of restoring funds and have literally taken food out of Palestinian’s mouths, just as Trump did.
While the media parrot assertions of UNRWA involvement in the events of October 7, members of congress are largely silent about this evil turn of events. The United States is attempting to undermine the ICJ ruling and makes a mockery of its own claims of following a “rules based order.” The rules of international law are certainly not considered when Biden or any other U.S. president makes a decision. Their rules are based on a commitment to domination and nothing else.
Hamas is vilified as a terrorist organization along with unnamed “Iranian backed militia groups.” However, the real terrorists are Israel and its patron, the United States. Their devotion to war crimes and genocides makes them the worst violators of human rights in the world.
Editor’s Note: I just want to point out that UNRWA supports Palestinian refugees, not only in Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank) but also in Jordan, as well as in Syria and Lebanon, both of which are economically distressed at the moment by U.S. Sanctions. [jb]
*Featured Image: Secretary of State Blinken meets with UNRWA officials in November 2023 (Photo: X platform @SecBlinken)
Margaret Kimberley is the author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents . You can support her work on Patreon and also find it on the Twitter , Bluesky , and Telegram platforms. She can be reached via email at