Lula calls the ambassador to Israel, and signs worsening in the relationship between the two countries

Brasil de Fato

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva raised the tone once again against the genocide perpetrated by Israel targeting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and called permanently the ambassador to Israel. The Brazilian government didn’t mention another name for the post. The embassy will be headed by the chargé d’affaires, a clear sign of the declining importance to Brazil of its relations with Israel.

In a decree published on Tuesday (28) in the Federal Register (DOU, in Portuguese), Lula removed Ambassador Frederico Salomão Duque Estrada Meyer from the Brazilian Embassy in Tel Aviv to serve as Brazil’s special representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Brazilian president’s decision comes amid increasing international pressure against Israel’s military offensive in Rafah. On Sunday (26), Israeli bombardment of the refugee camp set up in the town burned to death children, women and elderly people, amounting to 45 fatal victims and more than 200 injured.

The attack flouted a ruling issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and sparked international outrage. On Tuesday, the government of Mexico announced that it had submitted a formal request to be part of the case before the ICJ, in which the State of Israel is accused of committing genocide against the Palestinian population living in the Gaza Strip.

The case was launched in January this year on the initiative of South Africa and claims that the military action launched last October by the Zionist government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which has already caused the death of more than 36,000 Palestinian civilians, constitutes a violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, a document that Israel signed and, therefore, committed itself to respect.

Palestinian state

On Thursday (23), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva highlighted the “historic decision” by Spain, the Republic of Ireland and Norway in recognizing the Palestinian statehood, a decision he considered positive for boosting peace “efforts” in the Middle East.

“The joint decision by Spain, Norway and Ireland to recognize Palestine as a state is historic for two reasons. It does justice to the claim of an entire people, recognized by more than 140 countries, for their right to self-determination,” Lula posted on X (formerly Twitter).

“Furthermore, this decision will have a positive effect on supporting efforts for peace and stability in the region. This will only happen when the existence of an independent Palestinian state is guaranteed,” he added.

The president also recalled that Brazil was “one of the first countries in Latin America” to recognize the Palestinian statehood, a decision that was soon followed by other countries in the region. Recognition took place in 2010, during Lula’s second presidential term. 

On a visit to Brazil at the beginning of March, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, defended, alongside Lula, the creation of a Palestinian state as necessary for a peace agreement in the region.