Colombia to Sever Ties With Israel on May 2 Over 'Genocide' in Gaza

Colombia will sever ties with Israel on May 2 over the Jewish state's "genocide" in the Gaza Strip, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday.

"There is one word that justifies the need for life, rebellion, flag raising and resistance. This word is Gaza, this word is Palestine, it is girls and boys, infants, who were killed and blown apart by bombs. Here is the government of change, and the president of the republic announces that diplomatic ties with Israel will be severed tomorrow, because they [the people of Israel] have a genocidal government and president," Petro told a May Day rally in Bogota.

The country's Foreign Ministry also stated that the Israeli side will be informed about the scale of the measure announced by the president through official channels.

Furthermore, Colombian diplomatic personnel will return home after breaking diplomatic relations with Israel.

"Colombian diplomatic staff will return to our country. Our compatriots in Israel and Palestine will continue to receive the necessary assistance and services from the consular section of the embassy in Tel Aviv," a statement published on the ministry's website said.

Israel-Palestine Escalation

Colombia Joins South Africa's Genocide Lawsuit Against Israel, International Court of Justice Says

6 April, 09:32

The governmental body also emphasized that the country has repeatedly insisted on a ceasefire, the immediate release of hostages and the provision of humanitarian assistance to the population of the Gaza Strip.

"Unfortunately, neither the calls of Colombia nor the international community were heard, but on the contrary, the only thing the country and President Gustavo Petro received were insults, distorted accusations of anti-Semitism and unfriendly actions from the Israeli government and its representatives," the statement read.

At the same time, the ministry noted that the decision to sever relations with Israel is not directed against “the Israeli people or Jewish communities,” but affects exclusively diplomatic ties between the two countries.

On Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called the leader of Colombia, who promised to sever diplomatic relations, an anti-Semite who chose the “side of the monsters.”

Last October, Colombia's leadership decided to recall its ambassador to Israel for consultations due to the military operation in the Gaza Strip. President Petro said the attacks on the enclave and its blockade were causing casualties and destruction similar to those caused by the Nazis' suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1943.

Israeli authorities, in turn, summoned Colombian Ambassador Margarita Manjarrez to the Foreign Ministry, considering Petro's statements anti-Semitic. In response, the president did not rule out the possibility of suspending diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.