Despite widespread international criticism and condemnation against Myanmar’s oppression of its Muslim Rohingya minority, Tel Aviv reports on Monday revealed that Israel has not stopped providing Myanmar with arms and military equipment, even during the ongoing ethnic cleansing carried out by Burmese authorities for years.
Israeli news agency Haaretz published a documentary report on Myanmar receiving naval arsenal it bought from Tel Aviv at a time it is accused of heinous war crimes.
Israeli-made navy patrol boats custom-fitted with remote weapon stations are part of arms deals estimated to be worth tens of millions.
The Burmese army was accused of war crimes involving burning villages, uprooting tens of thousands of Rohingya from their homes and hundreds of thousands to flee to Bangladesh.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) accused the Myanmar authorities of committing ethnic cleansing against the Muslim minority.
Persecution of Muslims has intensified in recent months, with nearly a million reaching Bangladesh, where they have told stories of the atrocities committed by Burmese security forces, including systematic killings and rapes.
A month ago, the UN determined that the army was carrying out ethnic cleansing.
The pictures of the two Israeli vessels posted on the Facebook page also reveal the weapons that have been installed on them.
The weapons include a remote weapon station, made by Elbit Systems, which allows the firing of a heavy machine gun or cannon of up to 30 millimeters. The new patrol boats are only part of a larger deal signed between Israel and Myanmar.
The Ramta division of Israel Aerospace Industries, which manufactures the Super Dvora, is meant to transfer at least two more boats to the local military. According to some reports on the deal, these boats will be built in Myanmar with the help of Israeli technology.
