Israel-Myanmar education deal allows 'editing of history'

The deal comes as both countries face international criticism - Israel for its mistreatment of Palestinians, and Myanmar for the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya.

While some 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state since last August - in what the UN says bears the "hallmarks of genocide" - Israel has been on the forefront of international condemnation for killing more than 100 Palestinian protesters in Gaza over the past seven weeks.

The agreement allows the countries to "mutually verify school textbooks, particularly ... passages referring to the history of the other state and, where needed, introduce corrections".

Israel has similar agreements with other countries, particularly with other countries in Europe, in teaching about the Holocaust.

The deal comes at a turbulent time for Israel, after the scores of Palestinians killed since demonstrations began on the Gaza border on 30 March.

The International Red Cross (ICRC) said Gaza is facing an "epic" crisis after the weeks of violence left more than 13,000 Palestinians wounded and dozens killed, adding even more pressure to the enclave's already overburdened healthcare system.

"The recent demonstrations and violent activities along the Gaza border... have triggered a health crisis of unprecedented magnitude," Robert Mardini, who heads the ICRC's Near and Middle East operations, told reporters.

Mardini said that in the seven weeks since the demonstrations and violence began "we have exceeded the wounded caseload of the August 2014 war".

Warning that the Gaza health system was on "the brink of collapse", he said ICRC would boost its assistance over a six-month period to reinforce medical facilities "which are clearly struggling to cope".

"The whole Gaza is a sinking ship," he said.

On Friday, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said Washington will 'unquestionably veto' a UN draft resolution calling for the protection of Palestinians despite the weeks of deadly Israeli violence.