BOGOTA, Colombia: Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced Wednesday that his country would sever diplomatic relations with Israel over its genocidal activities in Gaza.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) diplomatic relations with the State of Israel will be severed… because of the birth of a genocidal president,” President Petro said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a May Day rally in the capital Bogotá. Told.
Gustavo Petro, a harsh critic of the war with Hamas, took a critical stance on the attack on Gaza, which followed the unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7th.
In October, just days after the outbreak of war, Israel accused Peter of using language about Gazans similar to what the Nazis said about Jews. It announced that it would “cease security exports” to Colombia.
Israel accused Petro of “expressing support for Hamas terrorist atrocities inciting anti-Semitism” and summoned the Colombian envoy.
I would like to mention here that Israel is one of the major arms suppliers to the Colombian military. Later, as diplomatic tensions intensified, Israel announced it would “cease security exports” to the South American country.
Colombia then demanded that the Israeli ambassador be expelled from the country.
Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president, also asserted that “democratic peoples cannot allow Nazism to re-establish itself in international politics.”
In February, President Petro suspended Israeli weapons purchases after dozens of people were killed in a scramble for food aid in the war-torn Palestinian territories, calling it a genocide reminiscent of the Holocaust.
Colombia’s military has been engaged in a decades-long conflict with left-wing guerrillas, right-wing militias and drug cartels, and relies on Israeli-made weapons and aircraft.
The South American country has a history of strong military and diplomatic ties with the United States and Israel.
Petro previously supported Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The president also angered Israel by saying that the operation in Gaza was “not a war, but a genocide.”
Brazil and Colombia supported South Africa’s complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, arguing that the attack on Gaza violated the Genocide Convention.
Reacting to Bogota’s move, Israel said Colombia’s decision to sever ties was a “reward” for Hamas.
