Israel has refused to stop selling weapons to the Myanmar government after the United States and the European Union have imposed an arms embargo on the country.
Occupying Israeli authorities have stated that the ongoing crisis in Myanmar “is clearly diplomatic” as opposed to one of genocide.
Recently, human rights activists filed a petition against the continued arms sales to Myanmar, which Israel’s High Court of Justice is scheduled to hear later this month.
However, Israel Defence Ministry argued that the court has no standing in the matter, which it called “clearly diplomatic” reports Haaretz.
While replying to a parliamentary question on weapons sales to Myanmar, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said: “Israel subordinates [itself] to the entire enlightened world, that is the Western states, and first of all the United States, the largest arms exporter.
“We subordinate ourselves to them and maintain the same policy.”
He added that the Knesset plenum may not be the best platform for an elaborated dialogue on the issue and reiterated that Israel complies with “all the accepted guidelines in the enlightened world.”
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An expert said Lieberman’s statement was incorrect as the US and the EU imposed an arms embargo on Myanmar.
It is also known that Israel supported war crimes in Argentina and armed Serbian military forces who committed genocide against the Muslim Bosniaks, despite a United Nations embargo.
Genocide and refugee crisis
UN data shows that at least 60,000 Rohingya Muslims have recently fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state due to increasing violence, information that has been confirmed by satellite images.
Neighbouring Bangladesh has stated that an estimated 123,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in their shores since 25 August 2017.
At least 900 Rohingya Muslims have been reportedly killed in the latest crackdown on Muslim villages by the Myanmar army and Buddhist militias.
Videos have been published on social media by Rohingya activists showing villages being torched, children being burnt alive, and elderly men and women being tortured to death.
However, the Myanmar government has denied accusations of genocide and human rights abuses, stating that it is defending itself against terrorism perpetrated by Islamist insurgents, namely the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
