The United States and some of its European allies are facing criticism over their "hypocrisy" in imposing sanctions and war crimes investigations against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while sparing Israel the same over its policies in Palestinian territories.
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Sarah Leah Whitson, former director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division, said alleged Russian and Israeli violations of international law are clearly paralleled.
"We see that not just the US government but US companies are falling over themselves to sanction and boycott anything that has an association with the Russian government," Whitson told The Guardian.
"Contrast that with the exact opposite when it comes to sanctioning Israel for its violations of international law."
"It's very clear that the grounds for resisting sanctions on Israel, or even compliance with international law, is purely political," she added.
To compare this complexity to Russia's brute use of force against the sovereign & peaceful nation of Ukraine is to intentionally misrepresent the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is deeply insensitive to the security and humanitarian crisis confronting Ukrainians today.
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) March 1, 2022
Similar allegations came from the Foundation for Middle East Peace president Lara Friedman, president of the Arab American Institute James Zogby, and British parliament member Julie Elliot, who claimed a double standard when it comes to standing up for Palestinians.
"The Palestinians are looking to us to speak and act in the same terms. We sanctioned Russia over Crimea, and we are now likely to impose more sanctions," Elliot said, The Guardian reported.
"Yet Palestinians ask why we do nothing to end Israel's occupation."
Pro-Israel groups in the US have dismissed such allegations by accusing critics of exploiting Ukrainian suffering.
Anti-Defamation League head Jonathan Greenblatt described the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as "a dispute over territory by two peoples who both have historic claims and connections."
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"To compare Russia's brute use of force against the sovereign and peaceful nation of Ukraine is to intentionally misrepresent the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is deeply insensitive to the security and humanitarian crisis confronting Ukrainians," he tweeted.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
