On Thursday (29), Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the suspension of purchases from Israel. The measure was taken after Israeli soldiers shot Palestinians gathered in the City of Gaza to receive humanitarian aid. Over 100 people were killed.
Petro said the Israeli action “is called genocide and reminds of the Holocaust, despite world powers don’t like to acknowledge it.” The Colombian leader also said the world should “block Netanyahu”. In a social media post, Petro shared a video of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) shooting Palestinians.
“The number of victims in the Al Rachid street massacre (where food was being distributed) is 104 deaths and 760 people injured,” said the spokesperson for the Hamas Ministry of Health, Ashraf Al Qudra. Israeli military officers admitted to the incident, saying the soldiers felt "intimidated", and that's why they fired.
Petro’s decision is more symbolic than practical, since trade between the countries is not significant. According to Comtrade, the United Nations trade platform, Israel exported about US$ 138,8 million in products to Colombia in 2022. About US$ 283,000 were weapons, ammunition and accessories.
On January 26, the National Liberation Army (ELN, in Spanish) released a statement in support of the president’s stance regarding the massacre in Gaza. According to the Colombian armed group, diplomatic relations between the two countries “should be ended.”
Diplomatic relations between Colombia and Israel have become strained after the beginning of the attacks against Gaza. Colombia was one of the first countries to denounce what the president called “genocide” against Palestinians. Eight days after the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Petro said “[I] don’t support genocides” and he would break relations with Tel Aviv.
On the day following the statement, Israel suspended defense products exports to Colombia. The measure was in response to Petro’s declaration. The Colombian ambassador to Israel was summoned to give explanations due to the chief executive's criticism.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday (29) that Israel had killed more than 25,000 Palestinian women and children since October in the Gaza Strip.
