2023-11-01 02:31:00
He Bolivian government decided to break diplomatic relations with Israel again in rejection of his “disproportionate” offensive in the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Ministry reported this Tuesday in a press conference. “We cannot remain silent and continue allowing the suffering of the Palestinian people,” said President Luis Arce and continued: “We reject war crimes.”
Bolivia calls for a ceasefire and the end of the “blockade that prevents the entry of foodwater and other essential elements for life,” said the vice chancellor Freddy Mamaniwho explained that the decision to break diplomatic ties is “in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip and the threat to international peace and security.
For her part, the interim chancellor, Maria Nela Pradastated that the press conference had been called “in reference to the crimes against humanity that are being committed in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people. The country had previously severed relations with Israel in 2009.during the presidency of Evo Morales, also protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza. After the coup d’état, in 2020, Jeanine Áñez reestablished ties.
María Nela Prada and Freddy Mamani held a press conference against war crimes in Gaza
Tuesday’s announcement came hours after Morales put pressure on the current president on social networks to condemn Israel and declare it a terrorist state. On Monday, Arce had met with the Palestinian ambassador, Mahmoud Elalwani. “We cannot remain silent and continue allowing the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially girls and boys who have the right to live in peace. We reject the war crimes being committed in the Gaza Strip. We support international initiatives to guarantee humanitarian aid,” Arce wrote in Facebookafter the meeting.
In line with what was expressed by the president, when announcing the break in relations, Minister Prada demanded the cessation of the attacks in the Gaza Strip and rejected “the hostile Israeli treatment of those internationally responsible for providing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, who are being prevented from obtaining visas for the work that the international community has delegated to them.”
Hamas reports at least 50 dead in Israeli bombing of refugee camp
Prada reaffirmed the position of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to condemn “the clear violations of international humanitarian law,” as denounced by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, with his call “for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.” “Consistent with our pacifist policy,” Prada added, “Regarding declaring the world a zone of peace, we call for dialogue and to structural solutions that respect life and thus avoid a further escalation of the conflict worldwide.”
He also called on Celac, Unasur and ALBA, among others, to “produce” collective actions that allow finding “structural solutions to conflicts,” but also actions that seek “sanctions against those responsible of the war crimes that are being committed against the Palestinian people, not now, but for many years, and avoid genocide”. “Let us achieve a structural solution through the recognition of the Palestinian State“said the minister, a decision that Israel opposes.
How was this decision reached?
In the morning of October 7Israel suffered an incursion from the Gaza Strip, carried out by Hamas, which caused more than 1,400 Israelis dead, according to the Israeli government. As a reply, Israel declared a state of war. In a few days, the Army took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and carried out bombings against targets in the enclave, including civilians.
Gaza health authorities say 8,525 people, including 3,542 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7 and UN officials say more than 1.4 million of Gaza’s civilian population, some 2.3 million, they have been left homeless. The Israeli army accused Hamas, which governs the narrow coastal territory, of using civilian buildings as cover for fighters, commanders and weapons, accusations that Palestine denies.
President Luis Arce had already defended “the right of Palestine to have a sovereign State”
Days ago, on October 18, Arce had already condemned in the “most energetic way the bombing” against a hospital in Gaza which caused at least 471 deaths, for which Israel is blamed, and called for a “cease fire.” “We condemn in the strongest terms Israel’s bombing of the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza, which constitutes a war crime, leaving hundreds dead and injured. We call for an immediate ceasefire that openly violates the human rights of the Palestinian people.” , Arce wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
In that statement, which in some way anticipates the decision made this Tuesday by his government, The Bolivian president defended “the right of Palestine to have a sovereign State”, as “has been reflected in various agreements and resolutions of the United Nations” and considered that this non-compliance “is the origin of the current conflict.” “We call on the UN Security Council to prevent the genocide of the Palestinian people from taking place,” Arce said on that occasion.
ML / Gi
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