Israel accuses Bolivia, Colombia and Chile of supporting terrorism

On Wednesday, Israel accused Bolivia, Colombia and Chile of supporting terrorism after recalling their ambassadors in Israel over the Israeli aggression on Gaza, aligning their support “with Venezuela and Iran in support of Hamas terrorism”. Israel concentrated its accusation on Bolivia that broke the country’s diplomatic relations with it.

“On 7 October, Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped 240 and took them to the Gaza Strip. Among the victims of the atrocious Hamas terrorist attack, there are also citizens of Colombia, Chile and other Latin American countries,” the spokesperson of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Haiat, said.

“Israel is waging a war against a terrorist organisation that uses the citizens of Gaza as human shields, commits war crimes against humanity and violates the human rights of the citizens of Gaza, as well as the citizens of Israel,” Haiat added.

Haiat also called on “Colombia and Chile to condemn explicitly Hamas terrorist organisation that massacred and kidnapped children, women, the elderly and babies”.

In addition, he hopes that “Colombia and Chile will support the right of a democratic country to protect its citizens and demand the immediate release of all those kidnapped and not align themselves with Venezuela and Iran in supporting the terrorism of Hamas”.

La decisión del gobierno de Bolivia de romper relaciones diplomáticas con Israel es una rendición al terrorismo y al régimen de los Ayatolás en Irán.
Al adoptar esta medida, el gobierno boliviano se está alineando con la organización terrorista Hamás, que masacró a más de1.400… pic.twitter.com/B9R8veZfEY

— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 (@LiorHaiat) November 1, 2023

Earlier, Latin American countries had taken a different position on the bombings of Gaza since 7 October.  The leftist Bolivian government, led by President Luis Arce, was the first country in Latin America to cut its ties with Israel.

Bolivia points out that, “depending on the principles of United Nations and the international laws of liberty and peace, we announce that the State of Bolivia broke its diplomatic relations with Israel,” Vice Foreign Minister, Freddy Mamani, noted. He added, “The reasons behind breaking the diplomatic relations with Israel are over the aggressive Israeli military attacks  against people in the Gaza Strip,” Vice Foreign Minister, Freddy Mamani, noted

“We demand an end to the attacks in the Gaza Strip that led to killing thousands of civilians and forced displacement as well preventing from food, water and other essential elements for life. Israel violates the International Law about the treatment of the civilian population in armed conflicts,” Mamani added.

Before breaking relations with Israel, President Arce met on Monday with the Palestinian Ambassador, Mahmoud Elalwani, and expressed his rejection of “the war crimes committed in Gaza”.

Bolivia has already broken diplomatic relations with Israel on other occasions. In 2009, the government of Evo Morales (2006-2019) made the same decision in response to the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip in war 2009. Later, the right-wing Bolivian president, Jeanine Áñez, resumed relations with Israel.

NOTA | Bolivia rompe relaciones diplomáticas con Israel y llama a cesar los ataques a la Franja de Gazahttps://t.co/32vBEPCXL8 pic.twitter.com/3NNhpYjifM

— Cancillería de Bolivia (@MRE_Bolivia) October 31, 2023

Along with Bolivia, Chile and Colombia recalled their respective ambassadors in Israel, Jorge Carvajal and Margarita Manjarrez, in protest over the war against the Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

“Chile observes with a great concern and condemns strongly these military operations and the entailing collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza. Israel even does not respect the fundamental rights of life in Gaza,” Chile´s President, Gabriel Boric, said.

Chile assured that it recalled its Ambassador in Tel Aviv for “the unacceptable violations of International Humanitarian Law that Israel has incurred in the Gaza Strip”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Comunidad Palestina de Chile (@comunidadpalestinadechile)

For his part, Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, announced that his country’s Ambassador to Tel Aviv was summoned for consultations, in protest of the “massacre committed by Israel against the Palestinians”.

“I have decided to recall our Ambassador to Israel for consultations. If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we cannot be there,” Petro said on X.

WATCH: Gazan discovers his mother’s remains among the rubble

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.