Muna Asghar
16 October 2023•Update: 16 October 2023
ISTANBUL
Israel decided Sunday to halt all military sales to Colombia over its president’s remarks on Israel’s actions in Gaza, which he likened to the Nazi persecution of the Jews during the Second World War.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Colombian ambassador Margarita Manjarez to reprimand her over Gustavo Petro’s remarks, in which he also criticized Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for recently calling Palestinians “human animals.”
According to a report on the Israeli Haaretz newspaper’s website, Manjarez was summoned in particular over Petro’s posts last week on X, which were deemed “hostile and anti-Semitic statements against the State of Israel.”
Petro had expressed discomfort over Gallant’s remarks.
"This is what the Nazis said about the Jews. Democratic societies cannot allow Nazism to reestablish itself in international politics,” he said in the post.
He added that such a hateful discourse would lead to "a Holocaust.”
According to Haaretz, the Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned Petro's statements and considered them “supportive of the horrific acts of Hamas terrorists, escalating anti-Semitism, causing harm to representatives of the State of Israel, and posing a threat to the safety of the Jewish community in Colombia.”
Israel suspended security exports to Colombia “as an initial measure,” the newspaper added.
Following the move, Petro has reportedly threatened to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel.
Last weekend, Israeli forces launched a sustained military campaign in the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel – a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.
Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza has risen to 2,670, the local Health Ministry said Sunday.
In a statement, the ministry said that 750 children were among the dead. The number of wounded has risen to 9,600, it said.
