Nine Palestinian Americans filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Thursday, accusing it of failing to rescue them and their families trapped in Gaza during the ongoing conflict. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claims the State Department discriminated against Americans of Palestinian origin by not offering them the same evacuation efforts extended to other American citizens in similar crisis situations.
The legal action, supported by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and attorney Maria Kari, alleges violations of the plaintiffs’ constitutional right to equal protection. It highlights instances where the U.S. successfully evacuated citizens from war zones, such as Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Sudan.
The lawsuit names President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as defendants. A State Department spokesperson, while refraining from commenting on ongoing litigation, stated that the safety of American citizens worldwide remains a top priority. They also mentioned prior efforts to evacuate Americans from Gaza.
This legal challenge follows another lawsuit earlier in the week, where Palestinian families sued the State Department over its support for Israel’s military operations. The war, which began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, has resulted in over 45,000 deaths in Gaza, as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry, while displacing nearly 2.3 million residents and causing a humanitarian crisis. Israel denies accusations of genocide and war crimes.
The plaintiffs contend that the U.S. government’s handling of evacuations in Gaza demonstrates a double standard, failing to protect Palestinian-origin Americans compared to other citizens in conflict zones.
