Bolivia Cuts ‘israel’ ties as Chile, Colombia Recall Envoys over Gaza Aggression

Bolivia “has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the State of Israel, in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive being carried out in the Gaza Strip,” Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani told a press conference on Tuesday.

Minister of the Presidency Maria Nela Prada also announced the country was sending humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“We demand an end to the attacks” in the Gaza Strip “which have so far caused thousands of civilian deaths and the forced displacement of Palestinians,” she said at the same press conference.

The government of leftist Luis Arce is the first in Latin America to cut ties with the Zionist entity since the Israeli aggression started on Oct. 7.

Bolivia only announced it was restoring ties with the occupation regime in 2019, a decade after they were cut over previous attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Colombia, Chile Recall Envoys

In separate developments, the leaders of both Colombia and Chile also spoke out Tuesday against the Israeli offensive, which has now killed more than 8,500 Palestinians – two-thirds of them women and children.

“I have decided to recall our ambassador to Israel (Margarita Manjarrez) for consultation. If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we cannot be there,” Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

He decidido llamar a consulta a nuestra embajadora en Israel. Si Israel no detiene la masacre del pueblo palestino no podemos estar allá.

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) November 1, 2023

Chile, which has the largest Palestinian population outside the Arab world, also said Tuesday it was recalling its ambassador to the Zionist entity in protest against Israeli “unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law.”

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, has urged a ceasefire.

He said the “terrorist attack” by Palestinian militants against Israel did not justify killing “millions of innocents” in Gaza.