Despite calls by UN experts to halt arms supplies over potential violations of international law, an investigation reveals #Serbia's state-owned arms company exported millions of euros worth of weapons to Israel in recent months, coinciding with Israeli military cargo flights into Serbia. The arms transfers occurred amid and after a major escalation of violence in Gaza last October, prompting critics to accuse Serbia of being complicit in alleged Israeli war crimes and the mass killing of Palestinian civilians. While Serbia cites these deals as simply advancing bilateral ties with Israel, the sales raise ethical concerns about perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, flouting international laws, and potentially arming human rights abusers - bringing the unregulated global arms trade itself into question.
[…] But if the February flight earned Serbia half a million euros, two flights in March coincided with an arms deal worth 14 million euros, as Belgrade ignored widespread calls – including one on February 23 by a group of UN experts – for countries to halt the flow of weapons to Israel given the risk of them being used in violating international humanitarian law.
[…] The Serbian government has said nothing about the contents of the shipments, and Serbia's Ministry of Trade rejected a Freedom of Information request filed by BIRN to specify when the export permit was issued and what kind of weapons have been delivered, declaring the information "strictly confidential."
