THE latest meeting between China President Xi Jinping and United State President Joe Biden was flashed all over the world but Western media was silent about an important speech Xi gave before American business leaders in San Francisco. Xi said mutual respect is a basic code of behaviour.

The US had always had mixed ideologies through its own national interests when calling for good over evil, democracy against communism, Islamic extremism or Chinese authoritarianism. It has refused to accept balance of power. Failure to recognise Russia’s own sphere of influence in eastern Europe and Central Asia is the root cause of the Ukraine conflict. 

It exercises provocative actions in other countries’ backyards in ways it will never tolerate in its own. Freely attacking or invading, subverting governments and wrecking economies while chastising others for doing the same. Henry Kissinger said, “other countries have national interests, America alone has global interests”.

Not many buy into US’s sanctimonious ideology anymore. Ukraine and Gaza have accelerated this unmasking.

Amnesty International chief Agnès Callamard said, “The double standards of the Western governments are the bigger threat to human rights right now”. 

Oxfam stated that the siege on Gaza constitutes collective punishment and violates international law. 

The International Committee for the Red Cross spoke out against Israel’s orders for Gazans to evacuate their homes, without access to basic necessities as incompatible with international humanitarian law.

Horrors in Gaza exposed Washington’s extreme tolerance for the mass killing of civilians, so long as it’s done by a close and friendly regime. Gaza casualties showed that the rate of death during Israel’s assault has few precedents in this century.

International law and human rights have boundaries but are optional to the West.

The West condemned and besieged Russia through harsh sanctions for military operation in Ukraine but was coy regarding Israeli attacks on Gaza. 

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was ever willing to condemn attacks against civilian infrastructure as war crimes in Ukraine but was complicit in her silence on the war crimes committed against Palestinians.

The number of civilian casualties in Israel’s bombing of the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital was much greater than Russia’s targeting of the Maternity Hospital in Mariupol in March 2022 but Washington did not show the same harsh reaction towards Tel Aviv. 

Even Biden said, “it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you”.

When American journalist Brent Renaud was killed in Ukraine, Washington said, “We are horrified that journalists and filmmakers have been killed and injured” but did not condemn Israel for the killing of 36 journalists to date, as a result of Israeli bombing.

The definition of condemn is for the West to interpret.

As of November 23, more than 14,800 people have been killed in Gaza, including about 6,000 children and 4,000 women.

There has been censorship and disinformation in the media controlled by the West. Palestinian voices are marginalised and sufferings downplayed.

Ukrainian have the right to defend themselves but what about Palestinians?

How about starving two million people in Gaza where aid is denied? 

And the European Union is giving €18 billion (RM92.1 billion) as aid package to Ukraine while the US is looking at US$61 billion (RM285.02 billion).

Hundreds of eminent legal experts and retired judges in the UK have called on the government to respect international humanitarian law, secure a ceasefire, stop the export of weapons to Israel, and work towards a peaceful settlement.

International humanitarian law has been consigned to a footnote as Israel’s allies show solidarity and support Israel’s so-called right to self-defence. 

The killing of Israeli civilians caused outrage but that of the dehumanised Palestinians, collateral damage. The repression and dispossession by Israel’s policy towards Gaza has been ignored.

A group of lawyers representing Palestinian victims have filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court arguing that Israel’s actions amount to the crime of genocide. Let us pray justice is served. 

Where is the frankness, openness and courage in dealing with others especially on current issues of conflict?

Freedom, equality and justice, are they still relevant especially for people of “colour” and after the Civil Rights Act 1964?

What happened to the Declaration of Independence stating that “all (people) are created equal?”

Spare the lies that you are fighting terrorism while protecting “European people with blue eyes and blonde hair”.

What say you… – November 28, 2023.

* Saleh Mohammed reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.