According to Al Jazeera, Petro while speaking to a crowd marking International Workers’ Day in Bogota on Wednesday, said countries cannot be passive in the face of the crisis unfolding in Gaza.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced plans to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over its war in the Gaza Strip.
According to Al Jazeera, Petro while speaking to a crowd marking International Workers’ Day in Bogota on Wednesday, said countries cannot be passive in the face of the crisis unfolding in Gaza.
Israel waged a war on the Palestinian group Hamas after the militant organisation attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and seizing over 253 hostages.
Gaza health authorities on Thursday said the death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 34,596.
In a statement, it said during the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 28 Palestinians and wounded 51 others, bringing the total death toll to 34,596 and injuries to 77,816 since the Israel-Hamas conflict started in October 2023.
However, the Columbian leader, Petro was quoted as saying, “Here in front of you, the government of change, of the president of the republic, announces that tomorrow we will break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel … for having a government, for having a president who is genocidal.”
Petro is considered part of a progressive wave known as the “pink tide” in Latin America. He has been one of the region’s most vocal critics of Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
In October, just days after the conflict began, Israel said it was “halting security exports” to Colombia after Petro accused Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant of using language similar to what the “Nazis said of the Jews”.
Gallant said the country was fighting “human animals” in Gaza, as he ordered a total siege of the territory following the deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7.
A month later, Petro accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the besieged Palestinian enclave, drawing more ire from Israeli officials and pro-Israel advocacy groups.
And in February, Colombia suspended Israeli weapons purchases after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid in Gaza — an event Petro said “recalls the Holocaust”.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government about Colombia’s plans to cut diplomatic ties with the country.
Meanwhile, in early April, the Colombian government requested to join a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide.