Lula insists Israel “wants to effectively end the Palestinians in Gaza”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a new statement on Tuesday that Israel intended to “put an end to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip” following the open diplomatic crisis with Tel Aviv.
“The Israeli government actually wants to destroy the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. It is about eradicating this territorial space with the Palestinian people so that they can occupy it. There is no other explanation,” Lula assured in an interview with journalist Kennedy Alencar on TV! and the UOL portal, according to a preview offered by these media outlets.
Lula reiterated that the Israeli offensive is a “genocide” because it pits “a well-prepared army against women and children,” according to the excerpt from the media, which will broadcast the full interview on Tuesday evening.
However, the Brazilian president has clarified that he did not use the word “Holocaust” in his February 18 statements that triggered a diplomatic crisis with Israel, and assumes that it was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who did so has done this interpretation.
On this occasion, Lula stated during a press statement on a trip to Ethiopia that “what is happening to the Palestinian people has never existed in history, it existed (only) when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.” In response In response to these words, Israel declared Lula persona non grata in the country and publicly reprimanded the Brazilian ambassador to the Holocaust Museum. Brazil responded by summoning its ambassador to Israel for consultations to protest Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz's “unacceptable,” “lying” and “unworthy” accusations against Lula.
In his interview this Tuesday, Lula indicated that, given Netanyahu's mood and ideology, he did not expect the Israeli government to understand his words and assured that he would repeat them. However, he stressed that Brazil only seeks peace and assured that “it was the first country” to condemn the “terrorist attack” carried out by Hamas on October 7. (Efe)