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Presidential Office Minister María Nela Prada (left) and Vice Chancellor for Foreign Affairs Freddy Mamani questioned Israel’s actions in Gaza
2 hours ago
The decision was announced by the Minister of the Presidential Office, María Nela Prada, and the ViceChancellor for Foreign Affairs, Freddy Mamani.
Bolivia “took the decision to break off diplomatic relations with the State of Israel by rejecting and condemning the aggressive and disproportionate military offensive in the Gaza Strip,” Mamani said.
“We demand an end to the attacks in the Gaza Strip, which have so far caused thousands of civilian deaths and the displacement of Palestinians; as well as lifting the blockade, which prevents the entry of food, water and other vital elements and constitutes a violation of international law and international humanitarian law in the treatment of civilians in armed conflicts,” said Prada, who serves as interim chancellor.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Bolivia is the first country in the world to cut diplomatic relations with Israel due to the current conflict, which began on October 7 when Hamas launched an attack on Israeli territory that killed 1,400 people became. killed and another 200 kidnapped, most of them civilians.
Since the Hamas attack, Israel has launched a bombing campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 8,500 people so far, according to local health authorities.
Although Israel’s stated goal is to eliminate Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and is designated a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States, many of the bomb victims are women and children.
Hamas welcomes Bolivia’s decision
The announcement of the severance of relations with Israel came a day after Bolivian President Luis Arce met with Palestinian Authority Ambassador to La Paz Mahmoud Elalwani.
In their statement on Tuesday (October 31), Bolivian ministers defended a ceasefire declaration and announced that the Arce government would send aid to Gaza.
In official statements, Bolivian authorities made no mention of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The Islamic group issued a statement on Tuesday (October 31) welcoming Bolivia’s decision and calling on Arab countries that had “normalized relations with Israel” to do the same, according to AFP agency.
Bolivia resumed diplomatic relations with Israel during Jeanine Añez’s government in 2020, about a decade after a pause announced in 2009 due to an earlier conflict in the Gaza Strip.
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Bolivia’s President Luis Arce met with the Palestinian diplomatic representative in La Paz, Mahmoud Elalwani
Colombia and Chile summon ambassadors to Israel for consultations
On Tuesday evening (October 31), Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announced that he had made requests for consultations with the country’s ambassador to Israel, Margarita Eliana Manjarrez Herrera.
In a message posted on the X network (the former Twitter), the Colombian president stated: “I have decided to call our ambassador to Israel for a consultation. If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we cannot be there.”
For the past two decades, and even before Petro came to power, Colombia was considered one of Israel’s most important partners in Latin America.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric also announced this Tuesday (October 31) via social media that he would call the Chilean Ambassador to Israel, Jorge Carvajal, for consultations “in view of the unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel” . the Gaza Strip.”
“Chile condemns and observes with great concern that these military operations which currently represent a collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza do not respect the fundamental norms of international law, as shown, above all, by the more than eight thousand civilian victims, women and children,” Boric noted .
Chile is the country in the world with the largest Palestinian community outside the Arab world.