‘History will remember’: Colombia to cut ties with Israel over Gaza

President Petro decided to 'side with the most despicable monsters known to mankind who burned babies, murdered children, raped women and kidnapped innocent civilians,' Israel's FM said

New York, United States. 20th Sep, 2022. Gustavo Petro Urrego President of the Republic of Colombia speaks at 77th General Assembly of the United Nations at UN Headquarters (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press) Credit: Pacific Press Media Production Corp./Alamy Live News
New York, United States. 20th Sep, 2022. Gustavo Petro Urrego President of the Republic of Colombia speaks at 77th General Assembly of the United Nations at UN Headquarters (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press) Credit: Pacific Press Media Production Corp./Alamy Live News

Israel lashed out at Colombia’s President after he announced that the country would sever diplomatic ties with Israel. 

“History will remember that Gustavo Petro decided to side with the most despicable monsters known to mankind who burned babies, murdered children, raped women and kidnapped innocent civilians,” Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said.

“The relations between Colombia and Israel were always warm and no antisemitic president full of hatred will change that,” he added.

Katz’s comment came after Colombian President Gustavo Petro said: “Tomorrow, diplomatic relations with the State of Israel will be severed… for having a genocidal president.” It wasn’t clear if Petro was referring to President Herzog or Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Petro is yet to condemn Hamas for its massacre on October 7 but has condemned Israel repeatedly for its war against the terror group in Gaza.

He has falsely claimed that Gaza was being “converted into a concentration camp”, likening Israel to Nazi Germany when Defence Minister Gallant announced a total blockade on the enclave.

“This is what the Nazis said about the Jews. Democratic peoples cannot allow Nazism to reestablish itself in international politics… This hate speech if it continues will only bring a holocaust,” he said.

“Governments that get used to bombing children do not seem fair to me. God does not bomb children,” he later said.

Colombia is among the countries that supports South Africa in its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians.

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