Colombia to break diplomatic relations with 'Israel'
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Gustavo Petro calls Benjamin Netanyahu a "genocidal president" during International Worker's Day celebrations.
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaks during a press conference at the Narino Presidential Palace in Bogota on April 30, 2024. (AP)
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Wednesday that he will terminate diplomatic relations with "Israel" for its genocidal actions in Gaza that have killed over 34,568 Palestinians and left 77,765 injured.
Petro has previously sharply attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urged that the International Court of Justice hear South Africa's lawsuit against "Israel".
In January, the ICJ directed "Israel" to abstain from actions potentially falling under the Genocide Convention and to guarantee that its military does not engage in genocidal activities against Palestinians, following South Africa's accusation of committing genocide in Gaza.
During celebrations for International Worker's Day, Petro declared to the crowd that "here in front of you, the government of change, of the president of the republic announces that tomorrow we will break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel...for having a government, for having a president who is genocidal."
BREAKING| President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announces that starting from tomorrow, May 2, Colombia will break relations with Israel. pic.twitter.com/ojCz4flZIt
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 1, 2024
Petro expressed that nations cannot be passive when faced with the events unfolding in Gaza.
Petro warned in March that if "Israel" doesn't comply with the United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution in Gaza, the country would break diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.
In January, Petro also called for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the South African legal team in recognition of their lawsuit against "Israel".
Previously, Petro dubbed "Israel's" crimes in Gaza as "Nazi".
'Israel' potentially using bombs that evaporate, melt bodies: Euro-Med
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor disclosed on Tuesday that it had received testimonies indicating that bodies of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza seemed to have "evaporated or melted," suggesting the use of prohibited thermal weapons in residential areas.
The Geneva-based rights group called for an international investigation into the matter, urging that an "international committee of experts must be established to look into the weapons Israel has been using as part of its genocide in the Gaza Strip .. including the potential use of bombs that produce such high heat that victims’ bodies evaporate."
According to the report, the genocidal war on Gaza, which has resulted in the martyrdom of over 34,000 Palestinians at the least, raises concerns "about the potential use of 'thermal weapons', or what are known as 'vacuum bombs'," – well-known in military circles for their efficacy in demolishing caves and underground tunnel complexes.
"A number of the victims killed in these horrifying Israeli raids on residential buildings have vanished and may have turned to ashes, raising questions about the type of bombs used in the attacks," Euro-Med said, also adding that thousands of martyrs "remain missing, either because it was impossible to recover them from under the debris in light of insufficient equipment and technical know-how, or because their bodies were either hidden by the Israeli army or no longer exist."
The group pointed out that the Gaza Civil Defense Service has issued several statements regarding the victims' bodies turning into ashes this month. These statements have detailed the discovery of a mass grave at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
