2023-11-02 22:11:50
The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas unleashed after the terrorist attacks of October 7 and the determined response of the government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has shaken the board of diplomatic relations in Latin America. Although Initially most governments in the region condemned the attacks to Israel, the reactions of each country have been very diverse, but no one has been left indifferent.
Argentina: the country with the largest Jewish community in the region
More than three hundred thousand people of the Jewish religion live in Argentina. Nine Argentines died in the October 7 attacks in Israel and, since then, another 21 remain missing. The president, Alberto Fernández, expressed his “strong condemnation of the brutal terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas from the Gaza Strip against the State of Israel”, a condemnation that he has reiterated on several occasions.
A statement issued this Thursday (11/02/2023) reiterates its condemnation of the terrorist attacks and recognizes Israel’s right to its “legitimate defense.” The Foreign Ministry adds that “however, nothing justifies the violation of international humanitarian law, and the obligation to protect the civilian population” and also condemns the Israeli attack “against the Jabalia refugee camp.”
The Delegation of Israeli Associations of Argentina (DAIA) rejected this condemnation and urged the Buenos Aires government to “differentiate itself from the pusillanimous positions of some countries in the region that have decided to break relations with Israel and condemn its legitimate right to defense.”
Demonstration in support of Israel in Argentina, on October 9. Image: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images
Bolivia: the toughest stance against Israel
Initially, the Bolivian government published a statement calling for “de-escalation of violence” without openly condemning the terrorist attacks. His posture has been hardening. until breaking diplomatic relations with Israel. This country accused the current administration of President Luis Arce of “surrendering to terrorism” and aligning itself “with the terrorist organization Hamas.”
The Hamas terrorist group itself welcomed the measure. “We highly praise the brave stance adopted by the Bolivian Government to sever relations with the Zionist entity,” said a statement from the Palestinian group cited by various media. Former President Evo Morales, leader of the ruling Movement towards Socialism (MAS), however, considered that the measure “is not enough” and asked on Wednesday that the Bolivian Government declare Israel a “Terrorist State” and present “a complaint to the International Criminal Court”.
Brazil: a complicated balance
Brazil has the second largest Jewish community in Latin America, after Argentina, with more than one hundred thousand members. In addition, the Hamas terrorist attacks left 3 Brazilians among the victims, as well as one injured who recovered and one still missing. The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, condemned the attacks, as did his Foreign Ministry, which, however, called from the beginning for “maximum restraint” from all parties.
The country, which holds the current presidency of the United Nations Security Council, requested an extraordinary meeting so that the issue could be debated there. Lula insisted that “so much irrationality is not possible” and that “wars are waged without taking into account that those who are dying are women, the elderly and children,” who “did not ask for that act of madness and terrorism that was the attack on Israel.” by the armed wing of Hamas, but “they also did not ask Israel to react in such an unhealthy way.
Chile: the largest Palestinian community
It is, with half a million people, the country with the largest Palestinian community outside of the Arab countries. Chile, with one dead and one missing in the Hamas attacks, the condemned from the beginning calling to “avoid an escalation that causes greater damage and suffering to the civilian population.” The country ended calling this week for consultations with its ambassador in Israel and called the Israeli bombings “collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.”
Colombia: Petro’s strong criticism of Israel
Although the Government of Colombia through its Foreign Ministry from the beginning “vehemently condemned terrorism and attacks against civilians” in Israel, it later softened the statement to refer only to “the effects on civilians.” The statements of the president, Gustavo Petro, have insisted that “the Palestinian State be fully recognized.” He even met with the “ambassador of the Palestinian State in Colombia, Raouf Almalki.” This and, above all, the Petro’s subsequent comparisons on social media of the Israeli response to the Holocaust or the Second World War created a strong controversy.
Israel threatened to suspend all exports of security technologies to Colombia, a chapter in which it had been helping the country in its fight against armed groups. Petro threatened to suspend commercial relations with Israel. Subsequently, Colombia called its ambassador in the country for consultations.
Costa Rica: “strong” condemnation of the attacks
The Costa Rican Foreign Ministry was one of the first to publish a official announcement to condemn “in the strongest possible manner the atrocious and deplorable terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel” and demand “the immediate release of hostages.”
Cuba: support for the Palestinians
The Government of Havana expressed in a statement on October 7 his “serious concern” about the “escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine, which is a consequence of 75 years of permanent violation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people” and called for the “creation of two States.”
A week later, in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Published even in Arabic, it referred to the bombings in Gaza without again mentioning the terrorist attacks by Hamas and called for “the search for a prompt solution through negotiation.”
Ecuador: two-state solution
His Foreign Ministry immediately condemned “the acts of terror experienced in Israel” while continuing to make a “call for peace and dialogue.” This Wednesday he reiterated his condemnation in a statement in which he also expressed “his deep concern regarding the Israeli bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp” and “remembers that the exercise of legitimate defense must always be done in full compliance with the obligations of the international right”. Ecuador broadly aligns itself with United Nations resolutions “on the situation between Israel and Palestine” and defends the two-state solution “within the recognized borders of 1967.”
El Salvador: significant positioning of Bukele
The harsh position from the first moment of the president, Nayib Bukele, of Palestinian origin, against Hamas was striking. In a tweet written in English he established a parallel between the terrorism of the Islamist organization and that of the gangs in El Salvador. However, despite being very active on social networks, he has not commented on the topic again.
“Anyone who supports the Palestinian cause would make a big mistake by siding with those criminals. It would be as if we Salvadorans had sided with the MS13 terrorists, just because we share ancestors or nationality,” he said in reference to the Mara. Salvatrucha, considered in El Salvador more than a criminal gang, but a terrorist group.
Voting in the United Nations General Assembly on a resolution, proposed by Jordan, for an immediate humanitarian truce in Israel.Image: Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo/picture alliance
Guatemala: support for Israel from the first moment
The country maintains close relations with Israel, both historical and current. Guatemala was the second country, after the United States, to vote at the United Nations in favor of the creation of Israel on November 29, 1947 (something that 33 nations of the 57 that then formed the UN did). It was also, with Paraguay, the only Latin American country (again here along with the United States) that voted against the recent UN Assembly resolution which requested, at the proposal of the Arab countries, a “humanitarian truce” in the Gaza Strip.
From the beginning, the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, expressed his support for Israel through social networks, in English and Spanish. Guatemala, which has had a diplomatic headquarters in Israel since 1956, maintains various ongoing cooperation programs of the MASHAV (the department of International Cooperation of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs) on issues such as tourism, investments, academic cooperation, but also others in technology, health and security. Furthermore, under the previous president, it was the second Latin American country to open an embassy in Jerusalem.
Honduras: respect “international humanitarian law”
Xiomara Castro’s government condemned the Hamas attacks. Regarding the bombings on Gaza, Honduras has adhered to the majority position in the United Nations, expressed in the latest resolution, which “reaffirms the obligation to respect international humanitarian law in all circumstances and emphasizes the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and its consequences for the civilian population, largely composed of children,” according to summarizes the Honduran Foreign Ministry itself.
general.advertisement.ad_label
Mexico: search for equidistance
“Mexico’s position is clear (…) faithful to the constitutional principle of peaceful resolution of disputes,” it said. a statement from the Foreign Ministry the day after the Hamas attacks, which left a thousand Mexicans stranded, who could be repatriated. There are also two Mexicans among the hostages held by Hamas, for whose release the Mexican government attempted direct contacts with the terrorist group. The statement recognized “Israel’s right to self-defense,” but condemned “the use of force, regardless of who it comes from” and advocated a “comprehensive and definitive solution to the conflict, under the premise of two states.”
The president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, limited himself to insisting that “we do not want war” and condemned “the use of force against civilians.” And he avoided “taking sides” again and again. “We do not want to take sides because we want to be a factor in the search for a peaceful solution,” he argued.
With his statements at the first daily press conference after the attacks, the president provoked an angry reaction from the Israeli Embassy in Mexico. “We would appreciate if the Government of Mexico could consider a position that strongly condemns the barbaric acts perpetrated by the terrorist organization Hamas,” he said in a statement.
Nicaragua: solidarity with the Palestinians
The government of the Daniel Ortega regime “strongly condemned the worsening of the terrible Israeli-Palestinian conflict” that “continually worsens, in the face of the arrogance, blindness, incomprehension and inaction of the international community and particularly of the United Nations” it’s a statement, on the same day, October 7, in which it does not refer to the Hamas attacks. In it, they say they are “always in solidarity with the Palestinian cause” and the problem is located in “the non-recognition of the Palestinian State, that is, of the neighbor, as equal.”
Panama: firm condemnation of the attacks
Panama, which would later be known to have lost one of its fellow citizens in the Hamas terrorist attacks, condemned them “firmly” from the beginning.
Paraguay: vote in favor of Israel
Along with Guatemala, it is the only country in the region that voted against the United Nations resolution that requested, at the proposal of Jordan, a “humanitarian ceasefire.” The country’s support for Israel, however, has had its ups and downs: in 2018, Horacio Cartes’ government announced the transfer of the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem at the end of his term, a measure thatIt was reversed by his successor three months later. Paraguayans were two of those killed in the Hamas attacks and there are also two missing of this nationality.
Peru: three Peruvians killed in the “spiral of violence”
Peru initially condemned the Hamas attacks, but lately also Israel’s response. In a statement this Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry regrets that “a spiral of violence and a worsening of the conflict in the Middle East has been unleashed, causing numerous deaths, including three compatriots.”
Uruguay: “absolute rejection of terrorism”
The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “on behalf of the Government and people of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay”, condemned the attacks from the outset and said that it “reaffirms its absolute rejection of terrorism and its commitment to the security of Israel.” The statements of the president, Luis Lacalle Pou, were in the same sense.
There were no Uruguayan victims in the attacks, but the country confirmed that a 29-year-old Uruguayan-Israeli woman was kidnapped from the Nir Oz kibbutz and remains held hostage.
Venezuela: pro-Palestinian Chavismo
Along with Nicaragua and Cuba, it is among the only three Latin American countries that did not expressly condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7. That day, the Government asked in a statement for “genuine negotiation” and expressed its “deep concern” about the situation. And he explained that the “escalation is the result of the impossibility of the Palestinian people to find a space in multilateral international legality to assert their historical rights.” The president, Nicolás Maduro, whose legitimacy has been widely questioned, went further and even spoke of “genocide” and “apartheid.”
1698974679
#war #prompts #Latin #American #countries #position