nchi za amerika ya kusini zimeanza kuita mabalozi wao toka israel.
Latin American nations are
expressing their revulsion at
the bloodshed in Gaza and
squarely pinning the blame on
Israel.
Chile, Peru and El Salvador said
this week they are recalling
their ambassadors from Israel
for consultation. That was after
Ecuador and Brazil did the
same last week.
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And on Wednesday, Bolivian
President Evo Morales declared
Israel a terrorist state.
Lots of world leaders have
denounced the violence on
both sides of Israels 3-week-
old war against Hamas in Gaza.
Palestinian casualties have
reached 1,328, according to
Gaza health authorities, while
the Israeli death toll is close to
60.
But the Latin Americans appear
to be leading a diplomatic
storm, flying envoys out of Tel
Aviv.
Recalling an ambassador for
consultation falls short of
breaking off relations outright,
but it can lead to that.
So, why are they doing it?
In a statement on Tuesday,
Chile condemned Hamas for
launching rockets at Israeli
towns, but slammed the Israel
Defense Forces bombardment
of Palestinian civilians.
The Israeli military operations
in Gaza
do not respect the
fundamental norms of
international humanitarian
law, as is demonstrated by the
more than 1,000 civilian
victims, including women and
children, as well as the attack
on schools and hospitals, the
Chilean statement said.
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Brazilian President Dilma
Rousseff described the Israeli
offensive as a massacre and
accused the government in Tel
Aviv of responding
disproportionately to Hamas
violence.
The Israeli government
responded Wednesday that its
disappointed.
El Salvador, Chile and Peru
would have been much better
advised to promote the
international move intended to
assist Israel in its efforts to
defend innocent civilians and
instate a durable ceasefire
with the demilitarization of
Gaza, Israels Foreign Ministry
said in a statement.
Privately, a senior Israeli official
told GlobalPost, They are all
very far away and don't really
know what is going on, and
Brazil, for its own reasons, is
pressuring them. Our situation
doesnt really have any effect
on them, and their action, it
goes without saying, has no
effect on our region.
The moves to recall
ambassadors are motivated
by foreign and domestic
policies, said a Latin American
diplomat, who spoke on
condition of anonymity
because of the delicate nature
of the issue.
He said the leftist governments
of Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela
would have followed suit if
they had any ambassadors in
Israel to pull out.
Many Latin American nations,
particularly Venezuela and
Chile, have Palestinian
communities. However, there
are also Jewish communities in
almost every nation in the
region, in some cases huge
ones, such as in Argentina.
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And Israel is an eager trading
partner, with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu this
year launching plans to
increase commerce with the
region.
But media in Latin America
have also shown graphic
images of dead and dying
Palestinians in a way that their
US counterparts usually avoid.
It remains to be seen how
long these consultations will
last, that they dont end up
removing their ambassadors
indefinitely, the diplomat said.
He questioned why theyd do
this in Israel and not in other
problem countries like Russia,
Iran or Syria.
Arnoldo Kraus, a surgeon and
columnist in Mexican
newspaper El Universal,
summed up many Latin
Americans views on Israel-
Palestine when he condemned
Hamas but described Israels
treatment of the Arabs as
racist and the Jewish
settlements on Palestinian land
as nauseating.
He added: The pictures of
dead children horrify.
Its
impossible not to feel
compassion for the suffering
of the Palestinians and disdain
towards the Israeli army.
This story was originally
published on GlobalPost.