Israel denounces Myanmar atrocities against Muslim minority

Foreign Ministry condemns atrocities against Myanmar's Rohingya minority, after diplomat tweets 'good luck' to officials accused of genocide

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the atrocities that occurred in Myanmar against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group, after an Israeli diplomat there tweeted support for Burmese government officials facing a genocide trial in international court.

“Encouragement for a good verdict and good luck!,” Israel’s ambassador to Myanmar, Ronen Gilor tweeted at the beginning of the week, specifically Myanmar State Councellor Aung San Suu Kyi,the Nobel Prize winner who also serves as the country’s foreign minister.

The tweet later was deleted, after a query from the Israeli daily Haaretz, the newspaper and news website reported.

On Thursday, the ministry said in a statement that the tweet was written “in error, and was corrected immediately.” The statement also said that “Israel strongly condemns the atrocities that took place in the Rakhine region against the Rohingya. About a week ago, Israel voted in favor of a resolution to denounce the atrocities.”

Myanmar has been accused of allowing mass rape and murder, as well as the burning down of homes in supressing the Muslim Rohingya minority in the west of the country in August 2017. The country’s leaders will face genocide charges in the International Court of Justice in The Hague starting on Dec. 10