Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced a severance of diplomatic relations with Israel, accusing its government of “genocide of the Palestinians.” “If the Palestinian people die, all humanity will die,” he said in a speech on Wednesday, May 1, in Bogota on the occasion of International Labor Day, “and we will not let them die,” said the left-wing coalition politician. He added that relations with Israel will be severed on May 2.
In response, the Israeli authorities strongly condemned the statements of the Colombian president. History will show that he sided with the monsters, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said. The head of the department, Israel Katz, called Petro an “anti-Semite” who promised to “reward the murderers and rapists from Hamas.”
The Confederation of Jewish Communities of Colombia issued a statement calling the relations between the two countries fraternal and called for “maintaining these ties, leaving open channels for dialogue.”
The radical Palestinian group, for its part, called the incident a “victory.”
Following the massive attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the launch of a response operation, Petro, who has been in power since 2022, criticized the actions of the Israeli government and accused them of genocide of the Palestinians. In addition, he interrupted arms purchases from Israel, which had previously been one of Colombia's most important arms suppliers.
Before entering politics, Petro was a member of the M19 guerrilla group, which, before its dissolution, carried out, among other things, attacks on Israeli institutions. Together with Brazil, Colombia supports the proceedings initiated by South Africa against Israel at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
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