Brazilian president rejects appointment of Israeli settler as ambassador

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has reportedly rejected the appointment of Israeli settler Dani Dayan as the Israeli ambassador to her country, media reports said yesterday.

Israeli Ynet news reports that Roussef sent messages to Israel expressing her discomfort with the appointment of Dayan as Israeli ambassador to Brazil because of his ties to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Dayan’s nomination to this position was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government two weeks ago, Ynet said, and Rousseff’s disapproval places Netanyahu, who also serves as foreign minister, in a “dilemma”.

Dayan was the head of the Israeli settlement body Yesha Council which represents the illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

More than 40 Brazilian social movements have signed a petition saying that Dayan has committed “acts in clear violation of international laws and the basic rights of the Palestinian people”, and calling on their president to reject Dayan’s nomination.

Ynet said that Dayan and the Israeli Jewish settlers “would likely be angered if Netanyahu retracted the appointment.”

The Israeli website said that if Dayan’s “nomination in the end receives an official refusal; this could cause a crisis in Israel’s relations with Brazil.”

However, the website said that Netanyahu has been trying to strengthen relations with Brazil as he sees that as an “important strategic goal for Israel”.