Azerbaijan Opens Tourism Office in Israel

Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi. (AP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi. (AP)
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Azerbaijan Opens Tourism Office in Israel

Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi. (AP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi. (AP)

Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi said Azerbaijan’s decision to open a tourism promotion and a trade office in Israel is a boost to strategic alliance ties between the two countries.

It is also a step towards adding Azerbaijan to the Abraham Accords that already includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, he stated.

“Azerbaijan is an ally, friend, and largest supplier of Israel’s energy resources. We will continue to work on the development of strategic ties with Azerbaijan and expand them in new areas,” Ashkenazi noted.

The Israel-Azerbaijan Joint Committee met virtually on Wednesday for talks on the promotion of bilateral relations and trade between the two countries. The committee had held its first meeting in 2018.

Earlier, Ashkenazi and Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov discussed “regional developments in the Middle East, and possible collaborations between the countries.”

The parties also exchanged views over the possibility of Azerbaijan’s recognition of the Israeli certificate of vaccination against coronavirus and the resumption of travel for Israeli tourists to Azerbaijan.

It was decided to advance a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the health field, to establish an inter-ministerial working group in the field of agriculture, and an MoU for cooperation in the field of water and desalination.

In recent years, Azerbaijan has become an important tourist destination for Israelis with approximately 50,000 visiting per year, and the countries are currently in the advanced stages of preparation towards signing tourism and aviation agreements.



Western States Encourage Belligerents by Arming Israel, HRW Chief Says

Tirana Hassan, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, addresses the audience on the impact of Latin America’s migration policies, in Bogota, Colombia September 11, 2024. REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita/File Photo
Tirana Hassan, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, addresses the audience on the impact of Latin America’s migration policies, in Bogota, Colombia September 11, 2024. REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita/File Photo
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Western States Encourage Belligerents by Arming Israel, HRW Chief Says

Tirana Hassan, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, addresses the audience on the impact of Latin America’s migration policies, in Bogota, Colombia September 11, 2024. REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita/File Photo
Tirana Hassan, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, addresses the audience on the impact of Latin America’s migration policies, in Bogota, Colombia September 11, 2024. REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita/File Photo

The head of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that states supplying weapons to Israel as it pursues conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon despite evidence of violations of international law are empowering belligerents elsewhere.

Tirana Hassan, HRW's Executive Director, said that countries like the United States, Germany and Britain could influence Israel's actions and should do so by ending arms sales.

"If there continues to be military support to the Israeli Defense Force and they (Western governments) know that these weapons are being used in the commission of war crimes, then that should be enough for weapons sales and transfers to stop," she told Reuters in an interview.

"At this stage, the parties that could have some sort of influence and curb the behavior of the warring parties, when it comes to Israel, it's the US it's the UK, and it's Germany, and it's through weapons sales and transfers."

Israel says it takes care to avoid harming civilians and denies committing abuses and war crimes in the conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

It says its enemies are fighting amongst civilian populations, making its operations more difficult, and that it is acting in self-defense. Reuters has asked the Israeli authorities for comment on Hassan's remarks.

Hassan said that when states which abused rights saw there were no consequences, they felt emboldened to continue.

Governments supplying them with weapons were undermining their own credibility as defenders of international law and human rights as well as the credibility of the international system, she said.

"It sends a message that these rules apply differently to us and our allies as they do to others, and that has really serious consequences," she said.

This contradiction when Western countries were demanding accountability for Russia's invasion of Ukraine was being exploited by countries like Russia and China, she said.

"They are very quick to point out double standards from the West and are trying to use that to undermine the system."

Hassan spoke to Reuters as the UN rights office released a report on the death toll in the Israel-Hamas Gaza war where it said nearly 70% of verified fatalities were women and children.

Palestinian authorities say that more than 43,500 people have been killed in Gaza in the 13-month war triggered by Hamas attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

"This should now motivate the world into action. There is really no justification for the killing of children," Hassan said.

On Oct. 13, Washington imposed a deadline for its ally Israel to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza or face potential restrictions on US military aid.

Asked about the likely impact of the election of Donald Trump in the United States, she said there was "little assurance" of his commitment to international law during his previous tenure as president.

"Now we have seen in some of the statements on the campaign trail threats of mass deportation of millions of people and this sends a very worrying message," she added.