2024-01-31 23:20:02
BOGOTÁ (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro offered the good offices of his government to intercede in the release of the hostages taken by Hamas through a letter released on Wednesday, in response to a previous request made by the president. Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu addressed Petro in a communication dated January 11 and made known to the press on January 25, asking him to make every effort to secure the release of a Colombian-Israeli and more than a hundred hostages held by Hamas. Especially by exerting “any pressure he can” once morest Iran, Qatar, Turkey and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Petro indicated that his government is already carrying out “efforts at the highest level” with a view to the release of Israeli Elkaná Bohbot, husband of a Colombian woman, who last November was granted nationality by Colombia in an exceptional manner to facilitate his release.
“Colombia and my government make good offices available to carry out this purpose. “I have rejected and will vigorously reject acts that involve the elimination of the other,” said the Colombian president.
Beyond the individual case, Petro pointed out as a “priority” to achieve rapid progress towards an “immediate cessation of hostilities and initiate talks for the release of all hostages.”
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, Pero has described the actions once morest Gaza as “genocide,” which he compared to the concentration camps of World War II, raising diplomatic tensions with Israel. Last October, Colombia recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations.
The Colombian president also proposed the creation of a “peace commission made up of various countries to guarantee these releases and achieve the greater objective of ending the violence unleashed between Israel and Palestine.”
The war began last October following a Hamas assault on southern Israel, in which fighters killed regarding 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took regarding 250 more hostage. About half of the hostages were freed during a week-long ceasefire last November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Colombia has also supported the recent accusation made by South Africa before the highest court of the United Nations in which it accused Israel of committing genocide with its military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
In the letter released on Wednesday, Petro did not insist on his criticism of Israel, but noted that in his last speech at the United Nations General Assembly he spoke of the need to end the war and proposed two peace conferences, one on Ukraine and the another regarding Palestine.
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