It is denial of a right to life, Mr. Biden
By Ebrahim Beheshti
Staff writer
On September 21, 2021, Joe Biden addressed the UN General Assembly for the first time as US president and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to upholding democratic principles, particularly “freedom, equality, opportunity, and a belief in the universal rights of all people.”
He quoted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “The equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.”
Bided also said the US and his partners will work “to meet these challenges, to build a future that lifts all of our people and preserves this planet.”
Setting aside some double standards by Western nations led by the United States concerning human rights, let’s focus solely on recent events within a small geographic area over the past 18 days. We don’t need to go through details; just examining news from Tuesday, October 24, related to the developments in Gaza will be enough to assess the US and its allies’ commitment to the universal value of respecting human rights.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the death toll from Israel’s strikes on Gaza since October 7 has climbed to over 5,800, among them nearly 2,400 children. Shockingly, just in one day, Israelis killed 704 Palestinians. The ministry also declared the complete breakdown of the health care system in Gaza’s hospitals.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has raised alarm about the dire conditions in northern Gaza’s hospitals. According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, the number of Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has now reached 19.
Israel’s Channel 12 has confirmed reports that the Israeli military used banned bombs against civilians in Gaza.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Western states of hypocrisy and double standards amid a lack of criticism of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
“The reaction from Washington and – with a few exceptions – from European capitals to Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 7 has been muted,” Tom Porteous, the deputy program director at the international NGO, said in a statement that was released on HRW’s website.
According to Porteous, while the United States and European countries denounced Russia’s actions in Ukraine, there was no clear condemnation of Israel’s cruelty in Gaza. He described the West’s hypocrisy as “flagrant and obvious.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the British Labour Party, criticized the policies of the UK government in the war against Gaza.
“Today, [we] say very bluntly to our political leaders … do not condone war crimes, do not condone the starvation and the denial of medicine to desperate people in Gaza,” Corbyn told thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters at a rally in London on October 14.
“If you believe in human rights, then you must condemn what is happening now in Gaza by the Israeli army.”
Josh Paul, a former director in the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, resigned last week over the Biden administration’s robust support for Israel. Paul declared he could not support further US military assistance to Israel, calling the administration’s response “an impulsive reaction” based on “intellectual bankruptcy.”
“The absence of a willingness to hold that debate when it comes to Israel is not proof of our commitment to Israel’s security. Rather, it is proof of our commitment to a policy that, the record shows, is a dead end — and proof of our willingness to abandon our values and turn a blind eye to the suffering of millions in Gaza when it is politically expedient, he wrote in an opinion published by the Washington Post.
Iyad Al-Bazm, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip, pointed out that more than 80 percent of the bombs used by Israel in its aggression against Gaza were US-made.
Western leaders, during their trip to Israel, have openly declared their support for Israeli acts, framing them as self-defense. In a somewhat hypocritical humanitarian gesture, they’ve made a distinction between military personnel and civilians. It’s as if they see Israel as a nice and obedient child who pays attention and distinguishes between soldiers and non-combatants. But the question arises: Were the 4,000 women and children killed in Israeli bombings armed members of Hamas?
No, Mr. Biden. You and your allies and partners have not only failed to create a brighter future for the people of Gaza, but you have also turned a blind eye to the violation and denial of their right to life. You’ve remained silent and even supported these acts. This behavior runs contrary to your supposed commitment to upholding human rights.