Brazil delays deal with Elbit amid calls for Israeli arms embargo

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 May 2024 23:33

Brazil's Defense Minister postpones a contract with Elbit Systems for armored vehicles following pressure from human rights groups and political figures.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gives a joint statement with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP)

Brazil's Defense Minister, José Múcio Monteiro, has delayed the signing of a contract with Israeli company Elbit Systems for 36 armored vehicles equipped with 155 mm howitzers, citing the need for political discussions amid pressure from human rights organizations and political figures to halt arms trade with "Israel" due to its ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

The deal, valued at up to $145 million, was postponed to address potential resistance from President Lula da Silva's Workers' Party (PT) and allies.

Jewish Voices for Liberation, in conjunction with Amnesty International, addressed Lula, in a letter, urging the Brazilian government to impose an arms embargo on "Israel".

According to local media, the letter read, "Seven months after the start of Israel’s most recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave has been transformed into a wasteland by the Israel Defence Forces," adding, "There is an urgent need for effective action by the Brazilian government to stop the ongoing offensive and mobilize the international system to take collective measures within international humanitarian and other international laws."

On their part, prominent figures in Brazil, including singer Chico Buarque and former ministers José Dirceu and Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, along with supporters of the Workers' Party (PT), supported this initiative and called on Lula to suspend all arms deals with "Israel".

"Brazil should distance itself from any cooperation with Israel as it maintains several political, commercial, cultural and military cooperation agreements with the state," the letter emphasized before it urged the Brazilian government to "suspend all defense agreements with Israel immediately and stop all imports of arms and exports of military equipment that could be used to commit violations against civilians, including war crimes in the Gaza Strip."

Petro to Netanyahu: Gaza crimes parallel those against Jews in Europe

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that history will remember Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a perpetrator of genocide.

Addressing Netanyahu, Petro added that bombing thousands of innocent children, women, and the elderly doesn't make you a hero but rather places you alongside those who killed millions of Jews in Europe.

The Colombian President emphasized that "genocide is still genocide" regardless of religion, urging Netanyahu to make an effort to put an end to the massacres, "at the very least."

Petro's statements were in response to Netanyahu's remarks earlier when he said that "Israel will not accept lectures from an 'anti-Semite' and supporter of the Hamas movement."