Israeli High Court rejects petition to ban arms sales to Azerbaijan

ArmInfo. The Israeli High Court rejected a petition to ban the sale of weapons to Azerbaijan, arguing its decision "lack of evidence to justify a hearing on  whether it was used for war crimes against Armenia," writes JPost.

At the same time, the publication notes that in the case of Malaysia,  the High Court rejected a similar petition, but held rather stormy  hearings. However, in this case, Judge Yosef Elron said there was no  basic evidence in the petition to hold a hearing.

At the same time, the source writes that the decision does not  preclude the submission of a repeated application with more  comprehensive evidence.

"It is unclear at this stage if sufficient evidence can be collected,  as in the case of Malaysia," said human rights lawyer Itai Mak.

It is noted that in the case of Malaysia, the High Court found that  Israel was selling weapons to Malaysia, which were probably used for  war crimes, but the topic, nevertheless, rejected the request for a  ban, either because Israel wanted to quietly stop selling weapons, or  - for classified alleged national security interests.  Mack said he  was urging Israel to stop selling arms to Azerbaijan for moral  reasons, but he did not have sufficient evidence to file a petition.  It was filed by activist Eli Joseph, who went on a hunger strike over  this.

Joseph provided news reports that 60% of the weapons in Azerbaijan  come from Israel, and evidence of a potential air delivery of weapons  to Azerbaijan in the days before the current conflict in Karabakh  erupted.  He also provided news reports and an Amnesty International  report with evidence that Azerbaijan is using Israeli drones to kill  Armenians. However, almost nothing that Joseph presented proves that  Israeli weapons were used against Armenians to commit war crimes, the  judge said. At best, he said, this proves that Israeli weapons were  sold to Azerbaijan, which could mean that they are kept in a  warehouse or in reserve for defensive purposes only.

Mack said he had made a direct appeal to the government to stop any  sales to Azerbaijan based on more general testimonies from  Azerbaijani officials.

"Azerbaijan has published footage of Israeli models of unmanned  aerial vehicles, including offensive UAVs and Kamikaze UAVs. In 2015,  Azerbaijani soldiers were at the parade with Israeli-made Tavor  rifles. In addition, in September 2016, Azerbaijani President Ilham  Aliyev visited a plant that produces Israeli kamikaze drones At a  meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Aliyev said Israel  had agreed to sell nearly $ 5 billion worth of defense equipment to  Azerbaijan. In addition, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry published a  video showing an Israeli UAV flying for a split second. past a  Turkish combat UAV.

Moreover, the statement of Aliyev's political adviser and other video  recordings of kamikaze drones can be evidence of their use against  Armenia, "Mac said.

"The history of the sale of Israeli weapons to Azerbaijan is  connected with the complex geopolitics associated with Iran, which it  borders on, and Israel's needs for oil.

The judge also demanded reimbursement of legal costs in the amount of  1,500 shekels for filing the motion, indicating that it was filed  prematurely and without sufficient research, "the newspaper writes.   It is also worth noting that the Armenian side has repeatedly  demonstrated factual data on the use of Israeli weapons against the  Armenian civilian population. In addition, official Yerevan protested  in connection with the ongoing supply of weapons to Azerbaijan  against the background of hostilities in the zone of the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Yerevan also recalled its newly appointed  ambassador to Israel for consultations.  Israel, only, expressed  regret with the recall of the Armenian diplomat, continuing silently  the intensive supply of weapons to Baku.