«Israel’s» Role in S Sudan under Scrutiny amid Violence

Local Editor

Escalating violence in South Sudan is casting a light on the "Israeli" entity's murky involvement in that conflict and raising questions about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new strategy of strengthening ties with African countries.

Netanyahu has been forging alliances across Africa in an effort he says will help blunt Palestinian diplomatic initiatives against the "Israeli" entity at the United Nations.

But critics said these new ties - illustrated by Netanyahu's high-profile visit to several African countries in July - had come without regard for the human rights records of those allies.

Such concerns had been magnified by the entity's close ties to South Sudan, whose government had used "Israeli" arms and surveillance equipment to crack down on its opponents. Critics said the entity's global arms export policies lack transparency and proper oversight, and ignore the receiving country's intended use.

Tamar Zandberg, an "Israeli" opposition lawmaker who has filed a court appeal to halt "Israeli" sales of sensitive technology to South Sudan slammed the "Israeli" regime for looking out for the entity's interest without crossing the limits saying "not at any cost and not with everyone".

The "Israeli" entity had long viewed South Sudan as an important ally and a counterweight to neighboring Sudan's support for Islamic Palestinian fighters. The "Israeli" entity was among the first to recognize South Sudan's independence in 2011, and South Sudanese leader Salva Kiir visited the entity months later.

Since South Sudan descended into civil war in 2013, some 50,000 people had been killed and 2 million have been displaced.

In July, hundreds died when fighting erupted in the capital, Juba. South Sudanese troops went on a nearly four-hour rampage at a hotel, killing a local journalist while forcing others to watch and looting the compound, several witnesses told The Associated Press.

Just days earlier, Netanyahu had traveled to four African countries - Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia - in a visit meant to cultivate new allies in his diplomatic battle with the Palestinians. It was the first visit to sub-Saharan Africa by a sitting "Israeli" prime minister in nearly three decades.

During the visit, he convened a summit with seven regional leaders, including Kiir - nearly all of whom have been criticized by rights watchdogs for alleged abuses.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity for his role in stoking ethnic violence, charges that were later withdrawn, with the prosecutor accusing Kenya of blocking her investigation. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, 71, has served for 30 years and is trying to change the constitution so he can effectively extend his rule for life. Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been dogged by allegations of human rights abuses in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and criticized by rights groups for being an authoritarian ruler.

A UN report in January said "Israeli" surveillance equipment was being used by South Sudanese intelligence, allowing it to intercept communications in a "significantly enhanced" crackdown on government opponents.

The report also found that an "Israeli" automatic rifle known as the Micro Galil is "present in larger numbers than before the outbreak of the conflict."

According to the report, the "Israeli" entity sold the rifles to Uganda in 2007, which transferred the weapons to South Sudan's National Security Service in 2014. According to the report, the entity said it didn't receive a request from Uganda for the transfer.

Eitay Mack, an "Israeli" lawyer working with Zandberg, the opposition lawmaker, said weapons export licenses require knowledge of end users and mid users - meaning the transfer would either have been done with "Israel's" knowledge or would have prompted an investigation into the offending company. He said no investigation was known to have been opened.

The UN report said "Israeli" ACE rifles were used in a massacre that targeted Nuer citizens in Juba in 2013.

Zandberg said the "Israeli" entity stopped sending firearms to South Sudan in 2013 but that export licenses for the surveillance equipment continue. The "Israeli" War Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

"Israeli" Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the entity is "extremely satisfied with our renewed relations with many African countries."

The European Union has placed an arms embargo on South Sudan, and following the outbreak of violence, the US imposed sanctions on top military officials from both sides of the conflict.

In August, the UN Security Council approved an additional regional protection force to enter South Sudan, but decided against an arms embargo on the country.

"Even without an international arms embargo, states should unilaterally suspend arms transfers given the likelihood that arms would be used to commit human rights violations," said Elizabeth Deng, Amnesty International's South Sudan researcher.

Zandberg and Mack asked the "Israeli" entity's so-called Supreme Court in May to force the entity to explain why it has continued export licenses for the surveillance system to South Sudan. Reflecting the entity's typically opaque approach to such transfers, the "Israeli" War Ministry asked for a gag order to be imposed on the proceedings. A hearing is scheduled later this month.

Zandberg is also seeking to change the "Israeli" entity's weapons export oversight law, which she says does not adequately ensure that "Israeli" arms don't end up in troubled countries.

The law states that the entity shall not supply weapons to any country under a Security Council arms embargo. But the council can often be slow to act, and Zandberg wants "Israel's" Foreign Ministry to have clout in determining whether it should allow arms transfers.

A 2013 report by the "Israeli" entity's comptroller pointed to "shortcomings, some of them significant," in export oversight, including a lack of personnel to investigate possible breaches and lax enforcement of requirements for exporters.

"A country that hands out these export licenses has to be accountable and to take responsibility for the [weapons'] final use," Zandberg said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team