Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al-Quds Governorate: Today, the spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque began in a public and dangerous manner, and we warn of a religious war in the region
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza's hospitals recorded six deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, all of them adults
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: A new chapter in relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency will begin within the framework of the new law passed by Parliament
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: The talks will focus on the political aspect, and the agency's delegation will not be accompanied by any inspector
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: An IAEA delegation will visit Tehran next week to discuss mechanisms for implementing the parliament's law suspending cooperation with the agency
Palestinian media: Herds of Israeli settlers storm the al-Aqsa Mosque and perform Talmudic rituals in it
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: 15 martyrs were transferred to hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past few hours as the Israeli occupation continues its aggression on the camps of the displaced
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: 38 were killed since dawn on Saturday, as the Israeli occupation army targeted aid seekers at distribution sites
Palestinian Red Crescent: One martyr, several injuries among our teams after the occupation bombed the association's headquarters in al-Amal neighborhood, west of Khan Younis.

'Condemn Israel or be complicit in genocide': Colombia's Gustavo Petro

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 8 Jul 2025 13:47
  • 3 Shares
4 Min Read

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in a Guardian op-ed, accuses Netanyahu of genocide in Gaza and urges global action.

Listen
  • x
  • Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks during a military ceremony in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
    Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks during a military ceremony in Bogota, Colombia, on June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

On Tuesday, The Guardian published an opinion piece by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in which he accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of orchestrating a "campaign of devastation" in Gaza and called on the international community to move beyond symbolic outrage toward concrete action in defense of international law.

Petro has emerged as one of the most outspoken world leaders condemning "Israel’s" war on Gaza, and his latest opinion piece adds to a growing series of forceful critiques directed at the ongoing Israeli genocide.

Denouncing what he described as 600 days of systematic atrocities, Petro wrote that the world's inaction risks legitimizing a model of impunity where colonial violence, ethnic cleansing, and siege warfare are normalized against a captive population.

"If we fail to act now," he wrote, "we not only betray the Palestinian people, we become complicit in the atrocities committed by Netanyahu's government."

Moral break

The president highlighted a landmark United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted in September 2024, which called for "Israel" to end its illegal occupation within 12 months. He noted that Colombia was among the 124 countries that voted in favor, thereby assuming binding obligations that include sanctions, legal action, and trade measures.

"The clock is now ticking," he warned, reaffirming Colombia's commitment by recalling its concrete step: suspending coal exports to "Israel."

Related News

Palestinians are being massacred by US-German weapons: Iran's Baghaei

Dozens of Palestinians killed in Gaza as IOF resume onslaught

In his piece, Petro mentioned that he had declared earlier this year: "We cannot fuel the machinery that slaughters Palestinian children and then claim neutrality."

This is not the first bold move by the Colombian president. In May, his government formally cut diplomatic ties with "Israel," citing what Petro explicitly described as a "genocide." His administration also appointed Colombia’s first ambassador to Palestine, pledging medical treatment in Colombian hospitals for injured children from Gaza. The newly appointed ambassador, Jorge Iván Ospina, later echoed Petro’s position, warning of a "macabre intention to erase the identity of a people."

In Tuesday's article, Petro praised similar actions taken by countries like Malaysia, which banned Israeli ships from its ports, and South Africa, which brought "Israel" before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on charges of genocide. It is worth noting that Colombia joined that case as an intervening party, further deepening its legal opposition to "Israel's" war.

Read more: US defends Israeli use of starvation as weapon of war before ICJ

Global reckoning

Looking ahead, Petro mentioned that Colombia and South Africa, co-chairs of the Hague Group, will host an emergency summit regarding Gaza on July 15.

The conference aims to develop a coordinated, multilateral strategy to isolate "Israel" diplomatically and economically while restoring credibility to the global legal order. With the UN's proposed international peace conference indefinitely postponed, Petro cast the July summit as a necessary corrective to global paralysis.

The Colombian president framed the Gaza crisis not just as a moral catastrophe but as an existential test for international law and nations of the Global South.

"We can either stand firm in defense of the legal principles that seek to prevent war and conflict," he wrote, "or watch helplessly as the international system collapses under the weight of unchecked power politics."

He concluded his piece by stressing that the choice is between complicity in colonial violence and collective resistance against it.

  • genocide in Gaza
  • The Hague
  • Colombia
  • Gaza genocide
  • International Law
  • Gaza
  • Gustavo Petro
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
An explosion seen during an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv, Occupied Palestine, June 13, 2025 (AP)

If Iran is attacked again, geography of response may change: IRGC spox

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS