Colombian President ending diplomatic ties with Israel

Mike Heuer
·2 min read
7
UPI
Colombia President Gustavo Petro announced an end to diplomatic relations with Israel as of Thursday due to the war with Hamas in Gaza. File photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI
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May 1 (UPI) -- Colombia President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday said he intends to end diplomatic relations with Israel over its handling of its war against Hamas in Gaza.

Petro said he's ending relations with Israel as of Thursday due to "the girls, the boys, the babies who have died dismembered by the bombs," The Hill reported.

Petro announced his intention during Colombia's annual May Day celebration at the central Plaza de Bolivar in Bogota.

"The times of genocide, of the extermination of an entire people, cannot come before our eyes, before our passivity," Petro said, according to the New York Times.

He said the death of Palestine would be the death of humanity.

Petro is supporting the "most abominable monsters known to man, who burned babies, killed children, raped women and abducted innocent civilians," Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded in a translated post on X.

Katz said Petro will not affect the long-term relationship between Colombia and Israel.

"Israel and Colombia always enjoyed warm ties," Katz said. "Even an anti-Semitic and hateful President will not change that."

Katz also said Israel will continue to protect its citizens and called Petro's support of Hamas shameful for supporting "Hamas murderers" who willfully massacred innocent people and committed sex crimes.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 34,000 have died and more than 77,000 have been injured during the war begun after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

The Health Ministry does not indicate how many of those killed or wounded were Hamas militants, and Israel says the death toll is much lower than claimed.

The Hamas attack killed more than 1,200 Israeli citizens and others, while another 250 were kidnapped, an estimated 99 of whom remain hostages in Gaza.

Five hostages are U.S. citizens, and U.S. officials say Hamas has the remains of three other U.S. citizens, CBS News reported.

If Petro follows through with ending diplomatic ties with Israel, Colombia would be the second South American nation to do so since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Bolivia in November ended its diplomatic ties with Israel due to its military strikes in Gaza.