Why did the US accuse the Sudanese militias of genocide – but not Israel? | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken he says his government found that the Sudanese Rapid Support Force (RSF) and its allied militias committed genocide in the war against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAR) that began in April 2023.

Blinken cited “638,000 Sudanese experiencing the worst famine in Sudan’s recent history, over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and tens of thousands dead” as reasons for the determination.

While Blinken harshly criticized the RSF and its leader, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagal, the United States administration continued to defend its ally Israel and its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, against similar accusations of genocide.

Isn’t the definition of genocide universally accepted?

is.

According to the 1948 Genocide Convention, genocide is acts aimed at the “destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”.

According to the convention, these acts are; killing group members; causing serious physical or mental injuries to members of the group; the deliberate imposition on a group of living conditions that are calculated on its total or partial physical destruction; imposition of measures to prevent births within the group and forced transfer of children from one group to another.

But Blinken did not invoke the Genocide Convention.

Why didn’t the US use the convention?

That is not clear.

Blinken made numerous references to the “ethnic” nature of what he described as the systematic killing of men and boys, including infants.

He also mentioned that the RSF “deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” all actions that human rights groups and international actors have repeatedly accused Israel of.

The rape and sexual violence that Blinken mentioned as reasons for concluding that the RSF committed genocide have been repeatedly documented as weapons used by Israeli forces against Palestinians.

Didn’t the USA say that Israel is not committing genocide?

There is.

To date, several human rights groups and international actors have accused Israel of engaging in war crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide, while the US has consistently defended its ally.

In November 2024, US President Joe Biden dismissed the International Criminal Court’s issuance of an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant as “outrageous”.

The US is just as harsh on other international actions aimed at stopping Israel’s attack on Gaza.

He presented the argument that Israel is carrying out genocide in Gaza before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). South Africa in December 2023 and since then more than 10 other countries have joined it.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in January that the case was “completely without any factual basis”.

The US tried to reject the findings of Amnesty International which in December said that Israel is committing genocide in Gazajoining several other human rights groups who have said the same.

How extensive is the evidence that the US is rejecting?

Very.

Except on Israel killed 45,936 people in Gaza are numerous reports about ethnic cleansinguse starvation as a weapon of waras well as systematic torture and sexual abuse and rape Palestinians by Israeli forces.

In October, the US issued a 30-day “ultimatum” to Israel that it must do more to allow humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been starving as Israel bombed it.

A month later, with famine imminent in northern Gaza as a result of Israel’s “siege within a siege” and its continued blockade of aid, Secretary Blinken decided to do nothing this is outlined in his ultimatum to Israel.

His administration, however, admitted that few, if any, one of the conditions of the ultimatum for increasing aid has been met.

What else has the US done?

In late December, the US went even further, allegedly ordered a withdrawal report concluding that Israel’s siege of northern Gaza has resulted in the famine that aid agencies have long warned about.

In July, even Israeli authorities initially found reason to investigate the 10 Israeli soldiers involved in the gang rape of Palestinian women prisoners in custody.

Despite this, the US seemed content to express “concern” about Israel’s behavior, using its veto in the UN Security Council the bloc calls for a ceasefire four times and taking no action against his ally.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced plans to sell an additional $8 billion in arms to Israel.