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US Congress Ovation for Netanyahu Contrasts Global Human Rights Advocacy

A debate emerged after the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declared a war criminal by ICC, to the US where he received an ovation and applause in Congress.
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Israeli PM Netanyahu, labelled a ‘criminal’ by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and condemned globally as the “butcher of Palestinians, received a standing ovation from Congress during his visit to Washington.
This incident exposes the Zionist influence on US politics and reveals the empty rhetoric surrounding morality and democracy in Washington, a former defence secretary told Sputnik.

"The duplicity of US policies has long been recognized, becoming especially evident after the Cold War when the country enjoyed its status as the sole superpower for over two decades.” a retired three-star rank Lieutenant General Naeem Khalid Lodhi, former Defence Secretary and Minister, told Sputnik.

“This prolonged dominance fostered an attitude of unilateralism and hubris. As China and Russia rise now, and the world shifts towards a multipolar structure, the US shows little inclination to change its entrenched habits,” Mr. Khalid said. “This is particularly reflected in its policies concerning Eastern Europe and the Middle East.”
He added that US leaders do not care about the news of their people and the Israeli public, who are against the ongoing wars.
Now Washington’s alignment of the warmongering partners is fully exposed, and the thin veil of morality, if there was any, is clearly and fully removed, he said, and its claim to world leadership is in tatters.

The Irony of U.S. Democracy

It has long been observed that the West, particularly the US, operates under a double standard regarding democracy and human rights, talking with Sputnik, Dr Nazir Hussain, former Dean and Member Board of Directors, and associated with Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, noted.
These principles are frequently wielded to maintain their hegemony and pursue self-interests, as shown by the so-called champion of democracy backing Netanyahu's brutal regime.

“However, Netanyahu is striving for his political survival by perpetuating conflicts in Yemen, Lebanon, or Gaza, requiring US support to continue his regime,” Hussain said. “But the US is currently unable to support him due to upcoming elections, political strife between Republicans and Democrats, and financial burdens from the Middle East and conflicts in Afghanistan and Ukraine.”

On the other hand, the Israel leader’s trip to Washington was straight off the page of American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC’s) lobbying playbook, Syed Abdullah Anwer, a human rights high court lawyer associated with Global 100 Law Firm in China, told Sputnik.
With the US Presidential Elections just a few months away, Netanyahu is setting the criteria for any presidential nominee that desires the support of Israeli donors and special interest groups for supporting their campaign.

Lecturing Global South While Itself Supporting War Crimes

Meanwhile, the US constantly lectures Pakistan and India on religious affairs and minority issues while it gives a standing ovation to the war criminal who is behind the Israeli army’s bombardments on mosques, Christian churches, children and women in Gaza, Haleema Khalid, a political analyst associated with South Asia Times, told Sputnik.
The US has consistently used its veto power at the UN Security Council to shield Israel from accountability, disregarding the humanitarian crises unfolding in Gaza, which reveals its willingness to prioritise geopolitical calculations over genuine human rights advocacy, she said.

"The US has a history of invoking human rights as a justification for military interventions and imposing sanctions on countries, all while maintaining alliances with regimes that perpetuate significant human rights abuses. This applauding attitude towards Netanyahu exemplifies this hypocrisy," she noted.

Amid the shift towards a multipolar world order, the US has effectively challenged its own credibility to lecture other nations on human rights or justify its interventionist policies, thereby weakening its position and influence in global diplomacy, Khalid emphasised.
Foreign media reported that US President Joe Biden is set to meet Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday, marking his first meeting with a foreign leader since leaving the presidential race.
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