Democracy Dies in Darkness

U.S. silent as global condemnation of Israel’s Rafah offensive grows

The Biden administration maintains that Israel’s invasion of the southern Gazan city is “limited,” despite an International Court of Justice order and a worsening humanitarian crisis.

By
May 25, 2024 at 7:21 p.m. EDT
Pro-Palestinian protesters hold up red hands as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on President Biden’s proposed budget request for the State Department, on May 22. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
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The United States, which prides itself as a global leader on human rights and international law, was conspicuously silent Friday after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to comply with its “obligations” under the Genocide Convention and “immediately halt its offensive” in Rafah.

The absence of any public statement from the Biden administration was a stark contrast to an almost identical ruling by the ICJ in March 2022, ordering Russia to “immediately suspend the military operations” it had just begun in Ukraine. Noting that the court “plays a vital role in the peaceful settlement of disputes under the U.N. Charter,” the State Department effusively welcomed the order and called on Moscow to comply.