Bogata, 2 May 2024, (GNP): President Gustavo Petro declares during May Day festivities, receiving enthusiastic applause from tens of thousands of Colombians, “If Palestine dies, humanity dies.”
“Tomorrow diplomatic relations with the state of Israel will be severed… for having a genocidal president,” Petro told a May Day rally in Bogota on Wednesday — referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Petro has strongly opposed Tel Aviv’s military actions in Gaza.
Petro told thousands of supporters that the world cannot accept “genocide, the extermination of an entire people.”
Israel calls Petro ‘anti-Semitic’
Israel responded to President Petro by calling him “anti-Semitic and hateful,” asserting that his position effectively rewards Hamas.
In October, days after the start of the war, Israel announced it was “halting security exports” to Colombia after Petro accused Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of using language about the people of Gaza similar to what the “Nazis said of the Jews.”
Israel at the time accused Petro of “expressing support for the atrocities committed by Hamas, fueling anti-Semitism,” and summoned Colombia’s ambassador.
Israel also accused the President of supporting Hamas atrocities and fueling anti-Semitism, leading to the summoning of Colombia’s ambassador. In retaliation, Bogota demanded the expulsion of Israel’s envoy from the country.
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, has also asserted that “democratic peoples cannot allow Nazism to reestablish itself in international politics.”
In February, he halted Israeli arms acquisitions following a deadly incident in the Palestinian territory, where dozens died in a rush for food aid—a situation he described as “called genocide and recalls the Holocaust.”
Also Read: Columbia University suspends pro-Palestine protesters for seizing Hamilton Hall
Cannot be accomplice of murderers
Colombia’s military, entangled in a prolonged struggle with leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and drug cartels, relies on Israeli weaponry and aircraft.
The nation has maintained robust diplomatic and military ties with both Israel and the United States.
Petro aligned himself with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who also incurred Israel’s disapproval by condemning its Gaza campaign as genocide. Despite this, Petro’s popularity has been climbing in recent months.
Colombia and Brazil supported South Africa’s filing against Israel in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, accusing Israel’s actions in Gaza of violating the Genocide Convention.
Sandra Gutierrez, a 38-year-old teacher participating in Colombia’s May Day demonstration, expressed support for her president’s stance, stating, “One cannot be an accomplice of the murderers.”