The diplomatic crisis between Israel and Brazil may extend to South America. On Tuesday 20 February, the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced his support for his Brazilian counterpart, Lula. “Personality Non Grata” After statements by Israel comparing the Gaza war to the Holocaust.
“I express my full solidarity with the President of Brazil”, Announced, on the X platform, Mr. Petro, whose country shares a border with Brazil. “In Gaza, there is genocide. Thousands of children, women and elderly are killed in cowardly manner. Lula only told the truth. Either truth will be defended, or barbarism will destroy us”asks the Colombian leader “whole region” to unite “An immediate end to the violence in Palestine”.
The endorsement comes as relations between Brazil and Israel deteriorate daily, after President Lula on Sunday accused the Jewish state of “Genocide” Palestinians in the Gaza Strip draw comparisons between the Israeli invasion and the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis.
“lie”
On Monday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemned “A serious anti-Semitic attack against the Jewish people and the State of Israel.” On Tuesday, Mr. Katz posted, on the X platformA new message for Lula: “Millions of Jews around the world are waiting for you to apologize. How did you compare Israel to Hitler?” “How shameful. Your comparison is immoral, misleading. Shame on Brazil and a spit in the face of Brazilian Jews.he added. “It’s not too late to learn the story and apologize.” In the meantime, you will remain impersonal in Israel! »ends the message.
Brazil’s head of diplomacy, Mauro Vieira, responded to the comments. Statements by Israeli Ministers “Yesterday (Monday) And today (Tuesday) is unacceptable in form, and misleading in substance,” Brazil’s foreign minister told the press in Rio de Janeiro, where the G20 diplomatic chiefs’ meeting begins on Wednesday. “For the Chancellery to address the head of state of a friendly country, President Lula, in this way is unusual and revolting. That the Chancellery systematically resorts to distortion of declarations and lies is shocking and serious”he insisted.
On Monday, Israel Katz called Brazil’s ambassador to Israel, Frederico Meyer, to Israel’s National Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem to rebuke him. In response, the Israeli ambassador was summoned by the government in Brasilia, and Brazil eventually recalled its ambassador to the country for consultations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Lula’s comments on Sunday “The Holocaust Trivialized” And “crossed the red line”.
In this tense environment, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, is scheduled to meet Lula in Brasilia on Wednesday. The US Secretary of State was on his way to Brazil, where he arrived Tuesday evening, his spokesman, Matthew Miller, said that the United States, an ally of Israel, “Apparently Disagree” With Lula’s words, he is adding “We don’t think there (is) Genocide in Gaza ».
