Israel’s Netanyahu heckled over arms sales to Myanmar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heckled during an event in Jerusalem yesterday by protesters angry at arms sales to Myanmar, Israeli media reported.

Demonstrators interrupted Netanyahu’s speech at the annual “Bible Quiz”, carrying banners that read “Disgrace! We are supposed to be a light unto the nations, stop making money from the Burmese Holocaust” and “We are supposed to be a light unto the nations and not an armorer to murderers”.

According to reports, “Netanyahu tried to continue his address over the jeers, but it took several minutes until the demonstrators were ushered from the room and calm was restored.”

Meanwhile, Israeli activists have “demanded that Israel halt arms exports to Honduras amid violent protests there following disputed elections.”

In a letter to the Defence Ministry, activists urged that it “freeze or annul the arms sales over accusations of human rights abuses committed by Honduran security forces.”

Read: ‘Israel abetting genocide in Myanmar’

The letter, sent last week and obtained by the Associated Press yesterday, comes after weeks of protests following Honduras’ 26 November election in which at least 14 people have been killed.

In November, Israel’s Foreign Ministry “stated categorically that it was no longer selling weapons to Myanmar, which has been accused of ethnic cleansing, amid an international outcry against the arms sales.”

“The statement referred only to weapons sales, but made no mention of other security-related products, like surveillance technology or military training services.”