CHICAGO: A federal judge dismissed on Thursday a lawsuit demanding the US government conduct emergency rescues of Palestinian Americans and family members who are trapped in Gaza and trying to escape hardships caused by the war between Israel and Hamas.
Chief Judge Virginia Kendall of the US District Court in Chicago said she lacked the power and tools to evaluate “delicate foreign policy decisions” belonging to the government’s Executive Branch, while expressing sympathy with “the impossible positions in which many of the plaintiffs have found themselves.”
Nine Palestinian Americans, all US citizens or lawful permanent residents, sued in December 2024, accusing the US government of violating their constitutional right to equal protection by abandoning them in a war zone and not evacuating them as readily as it would evacuate other Americans.
They said destroyed homes, food shortages, poor medical care, mental anguish and other hardships imposed a “mandatory, non-discretionary duty” on the government to evacuate people from Gaza.
But the judge said she was ill-equipped to address how to coordinate an evacuation with neighboring countries, how to shepherd evacuees through dangerous “red zones,” which people are eligible for evacuations, and how the nonexistent US diplomatic presence in Gaza would complicate the process.
“Endeavoring to answer these questions — and many more like them — from the comfort of chambers is both undoable and would also invade the political branches’ constitutionally committed tasks of determining when, how, and under what circumstances evacuations from war zones should proceed,” Kendall wrote.
The judge also said available evidence showed the US government has developed an evacuation plan, and the nine plaintiffs had either been evacuated or rejected offers that did not cover immediate family members.
Lawyers from the Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group, which represents the plaintiffs, had no immediate comment. The US Department of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251 others in an October 7, 2023, assault on Israel, according to Israeli data. More than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The lawsuit was filed against former US President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and continued against their respective successors Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth.
US judge dismisses lawsuit by Palestinian Americans trapped in Gaza
https://arab.news/rxd8a
US judge dismisses lawsuit by Palestinian Americans trapped in Gaza
- The judge said she lacked the power and tools to evaluate “delicate foreign policy decisions“
- Nine Palestinian Americans sued in December 2024, accusing the US government of violating their constitutional right to equal protection
US airlines and airports brace for a brutal travel day amid massive winter storm
- More than 14,000 flights have been canceled across the US since Saturday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware
LAS VEGAS: A massive winter storm set the stage for a brutal travel day Sunday, with airlines warning of widespread cancelations and delays at some of the nation’s busiest airports.
Widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million people — more than half the US population — in a path stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England, the National Weather Service said Saturday night. After sweeping through the South, forecasters said the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) of snow from Washington through New York and Boston.
More than 14,000 flights have been canceled across the US since Saturday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Nearly 10,000 of those were scheduled for Sunday.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport warned travelers on its website of widespread flight cancelations. Nearly all of its departing flights scheduled for the day — 420 flights, or 99 percent — have been canceled.
Significant disruptions have hit major airport hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Atlanta, home to the nation’s busiest airport, as well as New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.
American Airlines had canceled over 1,400 flights for Sunday, about 45 percent of its scheduled flights for Sunday, according to FlightAware. Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines each reported over 1,200 cancelations for the day, while United Airlines had more than 860. JetBlue had more than 570 canceled flights, accounting for roughly 71 percent of its schedule for the day.
My flight was canceled, now what?
If you’re already at the airport, get in line to speak to a customer service representative. If you’re still at home or at your hotel, call or go online to connect to your airline’s reservations staff. Either way, it helps to also research alternate flights while you wait to talk to an agent.
Most airlines will rebook you on a later flight for no additional charge, but it depends on the availability of open seats.
Can I get booked on another airline?
You can, but airlines aren’t required to put you on another carrier’s flight. Some airlines, including most of the biggest carriers, say they can put you on a partner airline, but even then, it can be a hit or miss.
Am I owed a refund?
If your flight was canceled and you no longer want to take the trip, or you’ve found another way to get to your destination, the airline is legally required to refund your money — even if you bought a non-refundable ticket. It doesn’t matter why the flight was canceled.
The airline might offer you a travel credit, but you are entitled to a full refund. You are also entitled to a refund of any bag fees, seat upgrades or other extras that you didn’t get to use.
