Several nations in South America have expressed their disapproval of Israel by filing diplomatic complaints. This is in reaction to the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas. The left-leaning government of Bolivia has even severed ties with Israel, citing accusations of war crimes and human rights violations in the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday afternoon, Bolivia’s decision was revealed at a press conference by María Nela Prada, a minister in President Luis Arce’s government. The minister, speaking in the de facto capital of La Paz, stated that they are calling for an end to the ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip, which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and forced many Palestinians to flee their homes.
Several hours passed before the governments of Chile and Colombia decided to withdraw their ambassadors from Israel. Meanwhile, the president of Brazil condemned the ongoing airstrikes in Gaza.
Freddy Mamani Machaca, the deputy foreign minister of Bolivia, stated that the choice symbolizes a rejection and disapproval of the forceful and excessive military attack by Israel in the Gaza Strip, which poses a threat to global peace and security.
The decision was made following the ex-president Evo Morales’ call for his nation to cut off relations with Israel due to the severe conditions endured by the Palestinian population. In a post on X (formerly referred to as Twitter) earlier this current month, Morales urged for Israel to be labeled as a “terrorist state” and for the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his associates to be reported to the international court of justice for their role in genocide and war atrocities.
In 2009, Bolivia ended its relationship with Israel due to the latter’s attack on the Gaza Strip. However, in 2020, under the leadership of right-wing president Jeanine Áñez, they renewed their ties.
Gustavo Petro, the leftist president of Colombia, announced on Tuesday that he had summoned back his ambassador due to Israel’s “massacre” of the Palestinian population.
Petro was criticized by Israel’s foreign ministry for comparing their actions to those of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis. They accused him of endangering Jewish lives and promoting the actions of Hamas terrorists with his hostile and antisemitic comments.
Chile’s leader, Gabriel Boric, has stated that he has summoned his country’s ambassador in Tel Aviv to address the “unacceptable breaches of international humanitarian law” being carried out by Israel in Gaza.
Boric stated that the military operation carried out by Israel resulted in over 8,000 civilian casualties, the majority of whom were women and children. This demonstrates the use of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Brazil’s leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, recently denounced the actions of the Israeli prime minister for wanting to destroy the Gaza Strip without considering the innocent civilians, including women and children, who are the true victims of this conflict.
“In a separate interview, Lula stated that Israel should not retaliate and harm millions of innocent individuals solely based on Hamas’ terrorist actions.”
On Tuesday evening, after reports that dozens had been killed by Israeli airstrikes at a refugee camp in northern Gaza, Lula tweeted: “For the first time, we are witnessing a war in which the majority of the dead are children … Stop! For the love of God, stop!”
Source: theguardian.com
