Amnesty International Calls for Arms Embargo of Israel

Courtesy Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent

The Anti-Defamation League on Monday blasted Amnesty International as denying Israel the right to defend itself after the human rights organization urged a global freeze on arms sales to Israel.

“In calling for an arms embargo of Israel, Amnesty International is doing nothing short of denying Israel the right to self-defense, an internationally accepted right of every sovereign nation,” said ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman in a statement.

Amnesty called for the embargo in a report released Monday that claimed more than 20 countries sold Israel weapons and munitions whose use during its offensive in Gaza could constitute war crimes and might pose serious infractions of international law.

“Indeed, with this pernicious and biased report, Amnesty International has now become the research arm for and a proponent of the extremist anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions movement,” the Jewish-American organization’s statement said.

“The manner in which Amnesty’s ‘evidence’ is presented and the tone of the report convey an obvious agenda to vilify Israel.”

The Foreign Ministry also lambasted the report on Monday, calling it biased and stating that Amnesty ignored the fact that Hamas is a terror organization.

Israel has faced a spate of war crimes allegations following the offensive against Hamas, in which about 1300 Palestinians were killed, according to Gaza officials. 13 Israelis were also killed during the campaign, which Israel launched to combat cross-border rocket fire.

In the ADL statement, Foxman added: “The report omits any mention of Hamas’ use of civilian shields, or tactics of basing their operations in the midst of population centers, in mosques, hospitals, schools, and UN facilities.”

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