Jerusalem - The Israeli ambassador was
mistaken to have sent a "GOOD LUCK" message to Myanmar ahead of
World Court hearings on accusations the state committed genocide
against Rohingya Muslims, Israel's foreign ministry said on
Thursday.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that the ambassador to
Myanmar wished authorities good luck in tweets that have since
been deleted ahead of the hearings next month at the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
"The ambassador’s tweet was a mistake and was immediately
amended," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Israel forthrightly condemns the atrocities perpetrated
against the Rohingya in the Rakhine region. Israel voted, a week
ago, in favour of a U.S. resolution condemning the atrocities."
More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring
Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military, which
U.N. investigators say was carried out with "genocidal intent".
Buddhist majority Myanmar denies accusations of genocide.
Myanmar's de facto leader, State Counsellor Aung San Suu
Kyi, will lead a delegation to defend against accusations
brought at the ICJ by Gambia, which has the backing of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Ronen Gilor, Israel's ambassador to Myanmar, had tweeted
"Encouragement for a good verdict and good luck!" in one post,
Haaretz reported with a screengrab of the since deleted tweet.
Another tweet said: "State Counsellor going to respond for
Myanmar in the ICJ! GOOD LUCK!"
Western countries have widely condemned Myanmar's actions in
Rakhine state while China has offered support for what it terms
Myanmar's efforts to preserve domestic stability.