The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the USA and its allies of failing to criticize Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.
“The reaction from Washington and – with a few exceptions – from European capitals to Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip since October 7th has been muted,” complained Tom Porteus, deputy HRW program director. He asked where “the clear condemnation of the cruel tightening of the 16-year-long closure of the Gaza Strip” was.
Porteus: International law applies to everyone
This tightened closure of the coastal enclave amounts to “collective punishment, a war crime.”
Porteus also missed outrage at statements by Israeli leaders who sought to “blur the all-important distinction between civilians and fighters in Gaza while ordering ever more intense bombardment of this densely populated area.” The Israelis reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble. In addition, there were no clear and unambiguous demands that Israel comply with international standards in its attacks on the Gaza Strip, Porteus further criticized.
He stressed that the requirements of international humanitarian law to protect civilians apply to everyone: “no deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on civilians, no taking of hostages, no punishment of civilians for the actions of individuals, no refusal or withholding of humanitarian assistance.”
“Hypocrisy and double standards are obvious”
Porteus referred to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, where Western states, in their efforts to gain international support for Ukraine and isolate Russia, have emphasized the importance of adhering to the rules of armed conflict.
But now the rest of the world is seeing a muted reaction to the devastating damage that Israel’s blockade and attack on the Gaza Strip is causing to the civilian population. “The hypocrisy and double standards of Western states are outrageous and obvious,” criticized Porteus.
