Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, says the Israeli government is “genocidal.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced plans to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over its war in Gaza, which human rights activists and other experts have warned could amount to genocide.
Petro told a crowd marking International Workers’ Day in Bogotá on Wednesday that countries cannot remain passive in the face of the crisis in Gaza.
“Here before you, the Government of Change, the President of the Republic, announces that tomorrow we will break off diplomatic relations with the State of Israel… because we have a government, because we have a president who commits genocide,” Petro said.
Petro, a left-wing leader who came to power in 2022, is seen as part of a progressive wave known in Latin America as the “Pink Tide.” Since the beginning of the Gaza war, he has been one of Israel’s most vocal critics in the region.
In October, just days into the conflict, Israel said it would stop “security exports” to Colombia after Petro accused Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of using language similar to the “Nazis about the Jews.”
Gallant said the country was fighting “human animals” in Gaza as he ordered a full siege of the area following deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7.
A month later, Petro accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the besieged Palestinian enclave, drawing even more ire from Israeli officials and pro-Israel advocacy groups.
And in February, Colombia halted Israeli arms purchases after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians fighting for food aid in Gaza – an event that Petro said was “reminiscent of the Holocaust.”
The Colombian president’s comments on Wednesday come amid growing concerns about a possible Israeli ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, which U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said would represent an “unbearable escalation.”
More than 34,500 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military offensive in Gaza so far, and the enclave faces an ongoing humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government on Colombia’s plans to cut diplomatic ties with the country.
Meanwhile, in early April, the Colombian government requested to join an International Court of Justice (ICJ) case accusing Israel of genocide.
“Colombia’s primary objective in this endeavor is to ensure the most urgent and comprehensive protection for Palestinians in Gaza, especially vulnerable populations such as women, children, people with disabilities and the elderly,” the country said.
PRESS RELEASE: #Colombia submits a declaration of accession in accordance with Article 63 of the Criminal Code #ICJ Law in the Case of Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (#South Africa v. #Israel) https://t.co/rLVf9mjah6 pic.twitter.com/ov1i62FDuW
– CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) April 5, 2024
The United Nations’ top court ruled in January that Palestinians in Gaza faced a plausible risk of genocide and ordered Israel to prevent such acts.
UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese also said at the end of March that there were “reasonable reasons to believe that the threshold for committing … acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been reached.”
“The overwhelming nature and scale of the Israeli attack on Gaza and the destructive living conditions it has caused demonstrate the intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group,” Albanese said in a report.
Israel has rejected allegations of genocide, calling Albanese’s report an “obscene reversal of reality.”