Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, criticized the United States on Thursday for presenting itself as a human rights advocate after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in Congress on Wednesday.

Kanaani remarked in a social media post that "Having committed genocide and infanticide for nine consecutive months, the criminal prime minister of a fake regime is hugged and embraced by his supporters ... The slogan of human rights is now the most ludicrous phrase heard from the American and European leaders."

Kanaani also said that Netanyahu's favorable reception in Washington revealed "the brutal and malevolent face" of US politics to the world, damaging Western civilization's "deceitful efforts to portray itself as an innocent and humane face."

Kanaani also posted that Palestinian children were getting slain at the hands of the "Tel Aviv butcher" every day. 

He further added that the ordinary rights of Palestinians, such as the rights to life, security, food, water, medicine, and treatment are being violated in Gaza and before everyone's eyes, while Congress and the US administration receive Netanyahu "the executioner" with applause. 

In his speech where he was given multiple standing ovations, Netanyahu pleaded with the US on Wednesday during his speech at Congress to fast-track military aid to "Israel" to end the war in Gaza.

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Izzat Al-Risheq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, blasted Netanyahu's speech before the United States Congress, describing it as "a criminal's speech filled with lies and a mockery of the [peoples'] intelligence."

Another senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that Netanyahu's speech addressing the US Congress is evidence that he does not want to conclude a ceasefire deal.

"Netanyahu's speech was full of lies and it will not succeed in covering up for the failure and defeat in the face of the Resistance to cover up for the crimes of the war of genocide his army is committing against the people of Gaza," Abu Zuhri said in an interview.

On his part, a spokesperson for the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, responded to Netanyahu by saying that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) "is the sole representative of the Palestinian people and it decides who governs them."

The remarks come as a direct response to a section in Netanyahu's speech which he dedicated to outlining his vision for governance in the Gaza Strip. 

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also lambasted the US Congress and Netanyahu's speech, and commended US lawmakers who boycotted the address. 

Congress applauded Netanyahu once every minute during his speech

Between occasional standing ovations and routine applauses, US Congress gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an excessively warm welcome that was reiterated almost 40 times in less than an hour.

Regardless of what Netanyahu was saying, whether it was taking a jab at the International Criminal Court, spewing repeatedly debunked claims surrounding the war on Gaza and "Israel's" behavior throughout, or comparing Hamas' operation on October 7 to 9/11, his words were met with applause. 

While Congress interrupted Netanyahu's speech 39 times to clap and give the prime minister a standing ovation, Mondoweiss' Ben Norton said to describe the speech as "well received" would be a criminal understatement. 

Out of the 39 applauses, 23 were standing ovations. In minutes, out of the 40 minutes and 30 seconds during which Netanyahu stood at the podium, 10 minutes and 55 seconds consisted of clapping. Statistically, over one-fourth, or 27% of Netanyahu's speech was applause.