Press Release
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Today, Sunday, 29 October 2023, the Egyptian Coalition for Human Rights and Development issues a report entitled: “Interests govern”… Gaza is a living example of Western double standards”, which focuses on the divergence of positions of Western countries represented by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, in dealing with the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip after the Al-Aqsa flood operation, by clarifying the following observations:
First: Supportive and biased policy measures in favor of Israel
These measures are represented in the exploitation of the Western media to spread rumors and false information by promoting that Israel is primarily a victim of the Hamas terrorist attack and, therefore has the right to defend itself while condoning the massacres taking place against the Palestinians. These measures also included the provision of comprehensive military support from modern and advanced weapons in addition to generous material support, under the pretext that everyone in the Gaza Strip belongs to Hamas; all in exchange for unarmed civilians from Weapons are trapped and even denied the right to life, through electricity, fuel and water cuts.
These measures also included Western support in international forums, especially the UN Security Council, which was demonstrated by the use of Western countries, led by the United States and Britain, vetoing a draft resolution condemning the Israeli entity.
Second: Violations of the Right to Demonstrate and Protest Peacefully:
Western countries of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, which have always presented themselves as defenders of human rights, have taken the opposite approach to these allegations, namely the suppression of peaceful pro-Palestine demonstrations and protests, which has emerged through:
• In the USA, universities, especially Harvard University, have been threatened with cutting off financial aid due to Pro-Palestinian protests by several university students in which several student associations denounced in a petition the responsibility of the Israeli regime for the attacks by the Islamic Resistance (Hamas) on October 7. As well as the arrest of approximately 20 demonstrators in New York City during an anti-Israel demonstration.
• In France, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin banned demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people, considering them a threat to public security, and the French security forces did not hesitate to fire tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators, and 4 people were arrested after hearing slogans such as “Israel is a murderer, Macron is complicit”, according to the municipality of Lyon, as well as the arrest of 13 people in Strasbourg, and 4 people in Marseille, and fines were imposed on a total of 752 people, as threatened by French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti, with “7 years in prison” for anyone who sympathizes with what Israel is subjected to in support of Hamas or declares its support,
• In Germany, the measures had a different nature, as the authorities specified several prohibitions related to supporting Palestine through demonstrations and protests, the most important of which is the prohibition of using the flags of organizations classified as terrorists: “Hamas” and “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine”, and not raising the Palestinian flag. Moreover, burning the Israeli flag is a criminal act punishable by law, it has banned demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians since October 11, and despite the ban, thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in various German cities, in solidarity marches. With Palestine, police arrested more than 127 people.
• In Britain, British Interior Secretary Suela Braverman has directed the use of full force to prevent the appearance of what she described as “anti-Israel symbols or slogans on the streets of the country”. In addition, British police arrested three people during a demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in London, and arrested four other people in St. Peter’s Square, and the Greater Manchester Police announced that four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the peace.
Third: Violations of the Right to Work:
Human rights violations in Western countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, extended to include the right to work, which was manifested in the following:
• In the USA, “M.S.N.B.C” arrested three of its Muslim anchors, and Lenox Hill Hospital, in Manhattan in New York City, fired emergency department doctor Dana Diab for allegedly praising what Hamas had done.
• In France, the Egyptian Tik Toker Karim Kabbani was dismissed from working in France because of his solidarity with the Palestinian cause, and the French club Nice announced the suspension of Algerian international Youssef Attal until further notice, because of a publication in which he supported the Palestinian cause, claiming that this publication is anti-Semitic.
• In Germany, the German club Mainz has terminated, the contract of its Dutch player of Moroccan origins, Anwar El Ghazi, after publishing a post declaring his solidarity with Palestine. Also, Issa Aidouni, player of the Tunisian national team and the German club Union Berlin, is subjected to a fierce attack, the need to terminate the contract and remove the player from the team.
• In Britain, the BBC announced the suspension of 6 of its Arab journalists after praising them on the “X” platform for the operation of the Al-Aqsa flood,
Fourth: Violations of the right to Life and Security:
A series of human rights violations in Western countries represented by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany included threats to kill, imprison, or deport supporters of the Palestinian cause, which was demonstrated by the threat of three Democratic American representatives, namely Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib from Michigan, Cory Bush from Missouri, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York, with death, because of their demand for a ceasefire.
Fifth: Violations of the Right to Freedom
Human rights violations included the right to freedom. It was demonstrated by the imposition of the French authorities on the Palestinian activist Mariam Abu Daqqa, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, 71 years old, in preparation for her expulsion from the country, because she represents a threat to the public security. Moreover, the star of the French football club Montpellier, Moussa Al-Tamari, was subjected to many threats of imprisonment following his continuous support for Palestine and Gaza.
Sixth: Violations of the Right to Expression
The right to express opinion, which is the main umbrella of rights and freedoms, has not been spared from these serial violations, which have been demonstrated through:
• In France, the leader of France’s New Anti-Capitalist Party, Philippe Bhutto, faces prosecution for “anti-Semitism and support for terrorism,” and Bhutto has expressed his “full support for the struggle of the Palestinian people for the liberation of their land.”
• In Germany, the Palestinian Samidoun network, part of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has been blocked, and many pro-Palestinian Arabs have been threatened with expulsion and deportation.
• In Britain, Transport for London announced that the underground driver who drove the chant “Free Palestine is Free” on the London Underground has been suspended pending further investigation into the incident.
Seventh: Violations of the Right to Nationality
It is known that nationality is the link between the citizen and his state, and it forms part of his identity. Therefore, it is one of the most important human rights. Still, France did not hesitate for a moment to pressure the French player Karim Benzema to withdraw his citizenship following his support for Palestine.
The report concluded with the following points:
• The declared support for the killing and destruction of the people of Gaza in the international arena is an indication that Western countries, especially the United States, no longer have the need to embellish diplomacy, human rights, freedom, and democracy as their slogan in international forums.
• Since the start of the battle of “Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7, Western governments, through the exploitation of their media, have practiced a blatant double standard: indescribable bias towards Israel, adopting lies and fabricating fake news with stories of killing children, and beheading and raping Israeli women, in order to portray Israel as an oppressed victim, and falling easy prey among the fangs of Palestinian “criminals/terrorists”. All in light of Western governments ignoring all Israeli violations of International laws and standards in the Gaza Strip, by targeting civilian installations and carrying out large-scale attacks on civilian infrastructure in Gaza, as well as in the West Bank, which is free of the Hamas movement that Israel invokes in order to kill Palestinians, shows that Hamas was only an argument to implement Israel’s aspirations, which is to displace Palestinians from Gaza and get rid of them forever.
• While during the Russian-Ukrainian war, Western countries accused Moscow of practicing “aggression against a sovereign state”, as well as occupying and bombing infrastructure facilities, such as hospitals, schools, energy facilities, and civilian government centers, without evidence and for political agendas that have become clear today. Therefore, they are supplying Ukraine with all kinds of advanced weapons available in order to defeat Russia, as well as not hesitating to pressure the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin is considered a “war criminal”. On the other hand, Western countries support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is committing gruesome massacres against Palestine’s 2,360 children and injuring 5,364 others as of October 24, as well as cutting off fuel, electricity, and water to the Gaza Strip, which is home to two million people!!.
• Not only did the Western countries, led by the United States, France, Germany, and Britain, declare their complete bias towards the Israeli occupation, but also went beyond supporting Western countries, “the land of freedom and democracy”, to prosecuting voices supporting the Palestinian cause, and preventing them from expressing their opinions, either by threatening, pursuing them, arresting them or even dismissing them from work, which once again revealed the double standards of the West, and the extent of the West’s racism in dealing with issues of concern to Arabs and Muslims.
• The human rights violations were not limited only to the right to express an opinion but also included the right to work and the right to nationality, as well as the right to protest and demonstrate peacefully, and the right to freedom. Western measures included the suppression of demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause, including university student protests, and the use of tear gas and water cannons to disperse these demonstrations, as well as the arrest of participants in these demonstrations. In addition to threatening some supportive officials and pressuring them to withdraw their opinions against the Israeli occupation. These violations extended to demand the deportation of supporters of Palestine and their dismissal from their jobs and also reached sports, which supported everything related to Ukraine against Russia that was prevented from participating in any sporting event as a “terrorist state”. On the other hand, these same countries tended to terminate the contracts of two players who supported Gaza after transferring them to the investigation, while preventing the entry of stadiums with Palestinian flags.
Accordingly, the international community is called upon now more than ever to preserve human rights, abandon double standards, provide security, stability, and peace in the Middle East region, end the Israeli occupation of the territory of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 lines, and recognize the right of the people to independence and sovereignty.
