Hamas welcomes announcement
Bolivia breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel
November 1, 2023, 2:54 a.m
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Latin America’s left-wing governments already have an ambivalent relationship with Israel. Tensions are growing with the attacks on the Gaza Strip. Bolivia is breaking off diplomatic relations with Israel, which it resumed just three years ago.
Bolivia has severed diplomatic relations with Israel over its attacks on the Gaza Strip. The South American country made 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 Foreign Ministry said. At the same time, calls were made for an end to the attacks on the Gaza Strip. The radical Islamic Hamas welcomed the announcement, but there has been no reaction from Israel so far.
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 breaking off relations with Israel. Israel and Bolivia only decided to resume diplomatic relations and expand cooperation between the two countries in 2020. Morales had previously broken off relations in 2009 because of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Chile and Colombia recall ambassadors
Meanwhile, Chile and Colombia recalled their ambassadors for consultations. “Chile strongly condemns the military operation in the Gaza Strip and notes with grave concern that this operation, which constitutes a collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population, does not respect the fundamental norms of international law,” said a statement from the Chilean Foreign Ministry.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on
Left-wing governments in Latin America have traditionally been critical of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. Colombia’s head of state Petro had already condemned the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip several times at The former guerrilla compared the actions of the Israeli armed forces with the crimes of the German National Socialists and the Gaza Strip with the Auschwitz extermination camp and the Warsaw Ghetto. Israel then announced that it would stop its exports to Colombia in the security sector.