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Middle East crisis — explained

South American leaders are

confronting Israel over its
offensive in Gaza
November 1, 2023 · 4:16 PM ET

Carrie Kahn

Palestinians conduct a search and rescue operation after the

second bombardment by the Israeli army in the last 24 hours at
Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City, Gaza, on Wednesday.
Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — This week,

Bolivia severed diplomatic relations with
Israel, Chile and Colombia recalled their
ambassadors from Tel Aviv, and Brazil
pleaded for an immediate halt to the killing of
children in the Gaza Strip.

The criticism coming from South America's

left-wing governments has intensified in
recent days as thousands of Palestinians have
been killed in Israeli airstrikes and shelling,
according to health officials in Gaza.

On Tuesday, Bolivia's deputy foreign

minister, Freddy Mamani Machaca, said his
government was cutting ties with Israel over
its "aggressive and disproportionate military
offensive" in Gaza, which he called "a threat
to international peace and security."

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@xevtfm · Follow

#ÚltimoMinuto "Bolivia decidió romper

relaciones diplomáticas con el Estado de
Israel", anuncia el vicecanciller, Freddy
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Vía: @AlertaMundial2

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Last edited 4:25 AM · Nov 1, 2023

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Bolivia's interim foreign minister, María Nela

Prada, demanded an end to Israeli attacks
that she said have caused "thousands of
civilian fatalities and forced displacement of
Palestinians," and implored an end to
blocking humanitarian aid and work by
international organizations in Gaza.

In response, Israel's Foreign Ministry accused

Bolivia of "aligning itself with the Hamas
terrorist organization" that killed 1,400
people in Israel and took 240 hostages on
Oct. 7.

"Israel condemns Bolivia's support of

terrorism and its submission to the Iranian
regime, which attest to the values the
government of Bolivia represents," the
ministry said.

Israel says its offensive in the Gaza Strip is to

crush Hamas, which has ruled the territory
since 2007.

Meanwhile, other South American countries

recalled their ambassadors from Israel,
including Chile. Chilean President Gabriel
Boric tweeted that Israel was violating
international humanitarian law and its
airstrikes amounted to "collective
punishment" in Gaza.

Colombia also summoned its ambassador

from Israel, with Colombian President
Gustavo Petro calling Israel's actions "a
massacre of the Palestinian people." He
posted a photo to X, formerly Twitter,
showing dozens of bodies wrapped in white
sheets, and wrote "the head of the state who
carries out this genocide is a criminal against
humanity."

Relations between Israel and several leftist

governments in South America have been
strained for years. In Bolivia, former
President Evo Morales severed ties with
Israel in 2009 following the country's military
actions in Gaza. A conservative
administration that replaced Morales
restored relations with Israel a decade later.

Morales, who still yields support in Bolivia,

has called Israel a "terrorist state" and urged
that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu be tried for war crimes in an
international tribunal.

Evo Morales Ayma

@evoespueblo · Follow

Ante la horrorosa situación que sufre el

pueblo palestino, demandamos nuevamente
al gobierno de Bolivia lo siguiente:
1. Romper relaciones diplomáticas con el
Estado de Israel.
2. Declarar al Estado de Israel como un Estado
terrorista.
3. Presentar ante la Corte Penal… Show more

8:54 PM · Oct 20, 2023

11.2K Reply Share

Read 1.6K replies

Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin

America Program at the Wilson Center in
Washington, D.C., said many of the South
American leaders' critiques of Israel's
response to the Hamas massacre are
principled. But, "in many cases, criticism of
Israel is a proxy for a worldview that
reflexively regards the United States and its
allies as bad actors. For U.S. antagonists such
as Evo Morales of Bolivia, sympathy for
Hamas is the ultimate expression of an
'enemy of my enemy is my friend' foreign
policy," he told NPR.

But Israel is losing the battle of narratives

across Latin America, says Oliver Stuenkel,
an associate professor of international
relations at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, a
university in São Paulo, Brazil. "In the same
way that it is losing the battle in the Global
South, perhaps with the exception of India,"
he added. India's government has spoken out
in support of Israel and condemned Hamas'
attacks against the country.

Brazil had hoped the United Nations Security

Council would pass a resolution calling for a
"humanitarian pause" in the fighting between
Israeli forces and Hamas militants. Brazil is a
non-permanent member of the Security
Council and assumed the body's rotating
chair last month. Brazilian Foreign Minister
Mauro Vieira slammed its inability to pass a
resolution and condemned what he called a
"persistent use of the council for personal
interests rather than prioritizing the
protection of civilians."

The United States voted against Brazil's draft,

and later put forward a resolution that
included support for Israel's right to defend
itself, while calling for the release of hostages
and for humanitarian aid for Gaza — which
Russia and China vetoed.

In a tweet Tuesday night, Brazil's left-wing

president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, lamented
the deaths of children in Gaza, which the U.N.
says has surpassed 3,500.

Lula finished off the message with a rebuke of

the United Nations and a plea to end the
hostilities, saying, "Stop! For the love of God,
stop!"

israel-hamas war gaza strip bolivia hamas brazil

chile israel

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