Gantz: Israel Must Not Sell Arms to Genocidal Countries, Legitimize Racist Regimes

Israel must not sell arms to genocidal countries or legitimize racist regimes, Kahol Lavan Chairman Benny Gantz said Tuesday.

“We are moral people, a moral country, and we must act that way at home toward one another, and also in our foreign relations,” Gantz told the Anti-Defamation League’s Israel Social Cohesion Summit.

Gantz also warned against alienation of Diaspora Jews, saying that in in recent years there has been a sense among them that Israel is becoming more estranged from them, in particular the younger generation.

"We should allow any Jew – religious, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, doesn't matter what – to feel a part of our slice of heaven," Gantz said.

An Amnesty International report released earlier this year was harshly critical of Israel’s policies on arms exports. According to the report written in Hebrew by the organization’s Israeli branch, Israeli companies continue to export weapons to countries that systematically violate human rights.

Gantz further told the conference that in September's election, “Most Israeli citizens voted for unity, at a time there are those busy with personal, legal interests and are actually trying to prevent the establishment of such a government."

"I’m doing everything I can, covertly and openly, in order to implement this voice and avoid another election campaign, that will only serve division and bring about another foul wave of hatred within the country,” he said.

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On Sunday, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging Israel into a third round of elections in a post on his Facebook page.

Netanyahu’s insistence on asking for the inclusion of the religious right into a unity government, Lieberman wrote, as well as being first in rotation for the premiership “indicates with certainty that the entire responsibility for the paralysis of government institutions, and for a third round of elections, lies with Netanyahu, and Netanyahu alone.”