Colombian president likens Israeli occupation to Nazi regime, prompting Israeli backlash

Gustavo Petro Urrego, President of the Republic of Colombia addresses the press at the UN Security Council media stakeout after presiding over the UNSC open debate on “Advancing political solutions in the Middle East: mediation and dialogue for a lasting peace” on June 10, 2026 in New York U.S. [Selçuk Acar – Anadolu Agency]

Colombian President Gustavo Petro sharply criticised Israel on Wednesday, comparing it to a Nazi regime over its military campaign in Gaza.

Speaking during a meeting at the UN Security Council, Petro said tens of thousands of people had been killed in Gaza by Israeli missiles.

“They rain missiles on people, even children.”

“These numbers cannot be hidden, and no political or economic interest can conceal this reality.”

Petro added that “the real common denominator of what I am saying here is that we are returning to the Nazi era”, according to the Hebrew-language news website Walla.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned Petro’s remarks on X.

“The disgraced outgoing President of Colombia is a stain on his great nation,” Saar wrote.

Saar also accused Petro of antisemitism, stating: “This antisemite is systematically trivializing the memory of the Holocaust,” and adding, “He is a communist that ruined his great country. Soon, he will be history.”

Colombia is due to hold presidential elections on 21 June, and Petro is not standing for re-election.

READ: Colombian president urges Trump to distance himself from Netanyahu

0 Comments

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.