Bolivia cut diplomatic relations with Israel due to attacks on the Gaza Strip. The South American country took the decision “in rejection and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the threat to international peace and security,” the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. At the same time, calls were made for an end to attacks in the Gaza Strip.
The statement was released after President Luis Arce’s meeting with the Palestinian ambassador. Previously, former president Evo Morales criticized the government’s position and called for a break in relations with Israel.
Israel and Bolivia only decided to resume diplomatic relations and expand cooperation between the two countries in 2020. Morales had already severed relations in 2009 because of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, Chile and Colombia recalled their ambassadors for consultations. “Chile strongly condemns the military operation in the Gaza Strip and notes with great concern that this operation, which constitutes collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population, does not respect the fundamental norms of international law,” the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. communicated. .
Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on the X news platform, formerly Twitter: “I have decided to call our ambassador to Israel for a meeting. If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we will no longer be able to be there.”
Left-wing governments in Latin America have traditionally been critical of Israeli policies towards Palestinians. Colombia’s head of state, Petro, had already condemned Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip several times in
The former guerrilla fighter compared the actions of the Israeli armed forces to the crimes of the German National Socialists and the Gaza Strip to the Auschwitz extermination camp and the Warsaw Ghetto. Israel then announced that it would stop its exports to Colombia in the security sector.