By Afshain Afzal

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on visit tot he  United States where he is scheduled to meet US President Joseph Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris. As planned earlier he was invited by the House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, who announced that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have a platform to share his government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region. Accordingly, Netanyahu has been invited to address the US Congress on Wednesday 24 July 2024. Israeli Prime Minister intend to convince America that Israel would remain a key US ally in the Middle East regardless who the American people choose as their next president.

The provisions of the Terrorism Act 2006, Part – I, Subsection 3, which includes the glorification provision and greatly expands the amount of speech that is “likely to be understood” as encouraging terrorism. Subsection 3 provides that statements that are likely to be understood by members of the public as indirectly encouraging the commission or preparation of acts of terrorism . . . include every statement which (a) glorifies the commission or preparation (whether in the past, in the future or generally) of such acts or offences; and (b) is a statement from which those members of the public could reasonably be expected to infer that what is being glorified "is being glorified as conduct that should be emulated by them in existing circumstances". Section 20, which provides definitions for terms found in Part 1, indicates that “glorification” includes “any form of praise or celebration.” Section 20 also states that “conduct that should be emulated in existing circumstances” includes speech referring to conduct that serves as an illustration of the type of acts that should be emulated.     

We should not forget that funding, arming and supporting individuals, and entities involved in terrorism or war crimes by the International Courts makes them equally involved in the crime. The acts of glorification are to be suppressed because they can contribute to one’s ‘radicalisation’. The American taxpayers and honourable members of Congress must understand that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been branded by the International justice system as one directly involved in the genocide of Palestinians and war crimes as well as he is defying arrest warrants issued by the International Court. No doubt, criticism and flat refusal to honour the orders and measures of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) speaks of criminal mindset has send a negative message to other nations to follow the same path of state-sponsored terrorism.