Colombia suspends all purchases of weapons from Israel and president calls war in Gaza ‘genocide’
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announced Thursday his government is suspending purchases of weapons from Israel after Palestinians say Israeli troops fired at people seeking food in Gaza, marking an escalation of tensions between both countries over the Israel-Hamas war.
Describing the deaths as “genocide,” Petro said he blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the violence around the aid convoy. Health officials in Gaza say at least 112 people were killed, bringing the war’s death toll to more than 30,000 people. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic stampede for the food.
Petro’s statement came months after Israel suspended security exports to Colombia in a diplomatic spat over online messages by Colombia’s president comparing Israel’s siege of Gaza to the actions of Nazi Germany.
“Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Netanyahu,” Petro said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “This is called genocide and is reminiscent of the Holocaust even if the world powers do not like to recognize it. The world must block Netanyahu. Colombia suspends all purchases of weapons from Israel.”
Colombia has been a key U.S. ally for years and one of Israel’s closest partners in Latin America. Relations with Israel and the U.S. have cooled since Petro was elected as the country’s first leftist president in 2022, although Bogota and Washington have stayed on relatively good terms despite differences over U.S. drug policy and Venezuela. [Continue reading…]