Amidst the tumult of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, two Palestinian American families have taken legal action against the Biden administration. They claim that the U.S. government has shown preferential treatment by not doing enough to evacuate their relatives in Gaza compared to Israeli dual nationals.
In the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 assault in southern Israel, the U.S. swiftly organized charter flights from Tel Aviv to Europe to assist Americans in leaving the region, responding to airline cancellations affecting the country. While the State Department asserts helping approximately 1,300 U.S. Palestinians escape Gaza and the repercussions of Israeli retaliation, the lawsuit argues that around 900 U.S. citizens, residents, and family members remain stranded without dedicated evacuation efforts.
The aggrieved American families allege a violation of their constitutional rights, asserting that the government’s failure to act compromises the safety of its citizens in an active war zone. Yasmeen Elagha, a key figure in the lawsuit, contends, “There is more that the U.S. government can do, and they are choosing not to do it for Palestinians.”
The State Department refrained from commenting on the ongoing litigation, emphasizing their efforts to facilitate the evacuation of Americans from Gaza. The White House deferred questions regarding the lawsuit to the Justice Department, which remained silent at the time.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, accuses the federal government of neglecting its duty to protect U.S. citizens in the midst of an active conflict, alleging a denial of equal protection to Palestinian Americans, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution.
The legal action seeks to compel the government to initiate evacuation efforts and ensure the safety of its citizens “on equal terms to other noncombatants in the same war zone.” Among the plaintiffs are Elagha’s cousins, Borak Alagha and Hashem Alagha, U.S. citizens studying engineering in the Palestinian coastal enclave.
In the face of bureaucratic hurdles, the lawsuit underscores the plight of three Americans who, despite being listed by the United States for departure at the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing, await clearance from both Israel and Egypt.
Maria Kari, a representative of the Arab American Civil Rights League, emphasizes the precedent set by the Biden administration in similar situations, stating, “We’re simply asking the Biden administration to do something it already did for a class of citizens in the same war.”
Reporting by Doina Chiacu, with additional contributions by Humeyra Pamuk and Jeff Mason; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Cynthia Osterman. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
