Knesset lawmaker urges Israel to halt weapons sale to AzerbaijanNovember 27, 2017 - 10:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Member of the Israeli parliament Tamar Zandberg has criticized Israel’s policy of exporting weapons and military technologies to Azerbaijan in a post to her Facebook page, according to CTech. Zandberg referred to a July incident in which Israel-based UAV manufacturer Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd. allegedly carried out a live demonstration of one of its suicide drones on an Armenian army post at the request of its client, the Azerbaijani army. In early November, the Israeli police announced that Aeronautics is under criminal investigation Zandberg wrote that she had appealed to the Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman, requesting that he cancels Aeronautics’ license to import drones to Azerbaijan, where, she said, they could be used to fuel the ongoing conflict in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), violating the fragile ceasefire agreement between the two countries. Ms. Zandberg’s letter to Mr. Lieberman was included in a motion for a class action suit filed against Aeronautics by the company’s investors. The suit, for $115 million (NIS 403 million), was filed today at the Tel Aviv District Court. “Israel’s involvement in violent conflicts in the Caucasus region is nothing new,” Zandberg wrote, citing a 2008 incident in which Israeli military exporters were involved in a Georgian attempt to take over the South Ossetia region, an operation that developed into a regional war with Russia. That incident caused a major embarrassment to the Israeli foreign and defense ministries, Zandberg said. Also, the lawmaker said that according to the official website of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the AZAD Systems factory in the country can manufacture parts for Aeronautics’ drones Aerostar and Orbiter 2, as well as Killer1, which is similar to the Orbiter 1K. This means that Azerbaijan could still manufacture Aeronautics drones, despite the freeze of Aeronautics export license to the country. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |