### The United States’ Anti-Humanist Stance: Enabling Dehumanization and Impunity in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict The United States, through its consistent diplomatic, military, and political actions, has demonstrated an anti-humanist stance by enabling Israeli policies that dehumanize Palestinians and perpetuate violence, while actively undermining international mechanisms designed to uphold human rights and accountability. This pattern of behavior prioritizes geopolitical interests over the fundamental principles of humanity, justice, and equality, contributing to a cycle of suffering in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. #### 1. Undermining International Accountability Through Veto Power The U.S. has abused its veto power in the U.N. Security Council to shield Israel from scrutiny, blocking over 50 resolutions critical of Israeli actions since the 1970s. Notably, in 2023, the U.S. vetoed resolutions calling for humanitarian pauses (October 18) and a ceasefire (December 8) in the Israel-Hamas war, despite a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities. These vetoes prevent the Security Council—the only U.N. body with binding enforcement powers—from referring Israeli actions to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or imposing sanctions, ensuring that incidents like the one described in an April 2025 X post—where a blindfolded person was allegedly shot "for sport"—go uninvestigated at the international level. By prioritizing its alliance with Israel over the protection of civilian lives, the U.S. exhibits a disregard for human dignity, a hallmark of anti-humanism. #### 2. Rejecting the Rome Statute and Threatening the ICC The U.S. has refused to ratify the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, thereby exempting itself and its allies, including Israel, from the court’s jurisdiction. In 2002, the Bush administration "unsigned" the treaty, and the U.S. passed the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, authorizing military force to free Americans detained by the ICC. This rejection of global accountability mechanisms is compounded by direct threats against ICC officials. In 2020, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for investigating Israeli actions in Palestinian territories, and in 2024, U.S. lawmakers threatened renewed sanctions after Prosecutor Karim Khan sought arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. These actions intimidate the ICC, obstructing justice for victims of alleged war crimes, such as the systematic starvation and murder in Gaza cited in the ICC’s November 2024 warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant. By actively sabotaging an institution designed to protect human rights, the U.S. places itself in opposition to humanist principles of justice and accountability. #### 3. Accusing the ICC of Antisemitism to Deflect Criticism The U.S. has joined Israel in accusing the ICC of antisemitism when it pursues investigations into Israeli actions, a tactic that undermines the court’s credibility and deflects legitimate criticism. In May 2024, after Khan sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes in Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the decision "profoundly wrong-headed," echoing Israel’s framing of the ICC as biased. This rhetoric delegitimizes efforts to hold Israeli leaders accountable for actions that dehumanize Palestinians, such as the 1983 statement by Raphael Eitan, former IDF Chief of Staff, who described Palestinians as "drugged cockroaches in a bottle." By weaponizing accusations of antisemitism to shield Israel, the U.S. not only obstructs justice but also enables the perpetuation of dehumanizing narratives that fuel violence, contradicting humanist values that prioritize the inherent worth of all people. #### 4. Hosting War Criminals Despite ICC Warrants The U.S. has continued to host Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, even after the ICC issued arrest warrants against them on November 21, 2024, for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including starvation as a method of warfare and murder during the Gaza war. Despite the warrants, which obligate 125 ICC member states to arrest them, the U.S.—as a non-member—allowed Netanyahu to meet with officials in Washington in December 2024 and permitted Gallant to attend a defense conference in early 2025. These visits signal a blatant disregard for international law and the suffering of Palestinian victims, whose rights the ICC seeks to uphold. By prioritizing diplomatic relations over justice, the U.S. demonstrates an anti-humanist stance, valuing strategic alliances over the lives and dignity of those affected by alleged war crimes. #### 5. Providing Military Support That Enables Violence The U.S. provides Israel with $3.8 billion in annual military aid, including advanced weaponry, which enables military operations often criticized for targeting civilians. During the 2014 Gaza War, the U.S. continued supplying munitions despite over 2,200 Palestinian deaths, including 550 children, according to U.N. data. This support persists despite documented dehumanization by Israeli leaders, such as Eitan’s "cockroaches" comment, and incidents of violence, like the 2016 case of Elor Azaria, an IDF soldier who killed a wounded Palestinian and was initially supported by Netanyahu. By arming Israel without conditions, the U.S. indirectly facilitates acts of violence and the dehumanizing policies that underpin them, placing geopolitical interests above the humanist imperative to protect human life and dignity. #### Conclusion: A Pattern of Anti-Humanism The United States’ actions—abusing its veto power, rejecting the Rome Statute, threatening the ICC, accusing it of antisemitism, hosting ICC-wanted leaders, and providing unconditional military support to Israel—collectively demonstrate an anti-humanist stance. These policies enable Israeli leaders to dehumanize Palestinians, as seen in historical rhetoric and ongoing violence, while ensuring impunity for alleged war crimes. This prioritization of strategic interests over human rights perpetuates a cycle of suffering, where acts like the shooting of a blindfolded person "for sport" described in the X post go unpunished. The U.S. must be condemned for its role in undermining the humanist principles of justice, equality, and the inherent worth of all people, as its actions directly contribute to the erosion of human dignity in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.