BRAZIL: Lula criticises Israel’s invasion of Gaza
Thank you for reading LatinNews' chosen article from the Latin American Weekly Report, produced since 1967 - 16 November 2023
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is adopting a more critical stance towards Israel. On 13 November he accused the Israeli military of “killing innocents indiscriminately” in the Gaza Strip. Tensions between Brazil and Israel were also inflamed by the Israeli government giving credit to its intelligence agency for helping to dismantle a suspected terrorist plot in Brazil on 8 November and for seeking to link the plot with the conflict in Gaza.
President Lula welcomed a plane bringing back Brazilian citizens stuck in Gaza on 13 November, when he gave a press conference in which he lamented the violence of the conflict. “After the terrorist act of [the Palestinian militant group] Hamas [on 7 October], the solution of the state of Israel is as grave as the actions of Hamas,” Lula said. He went on to accuse the Israeli military of committing “acts of terrorism”.
Lula’s comments drew flak in Brazil, as the national umbrella organisation for Jewish communities, Confedera??o Israelita do Brasil (Conib), released a response on 13 November stating that Lula’s words were “mistaken” and “dangerous”, taking issue with the attempt to equate the Israeli military operations in Gaza with the 7 October Hamas attack on Israeli soil.
Conib also stated that it expected “balance” from the Brazilian government. Another Jewish organisation in Brazil, Federa??o Israelita do Estado de S?o Paulo, responded to Lula’s comments by posting photos on social media of the Brazilians in Israel who died during the Hamas attack.
Brazil held the one-month rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in October, which could have been an opportunity for Brazilian diplomats to raise Brazil’s reputation as a neutral peacemaker on the world stage, but they were frustrated by failed attempts of UNSC member states to agree on a resolution. Lula has long called for reforms to the UNSC, including the removal of the veto power of the P5, the five permanent members (US, UK, France, China, Russia), and the addition of new permanent members, such as India or Brazil. On 14 November Lula reiterated his criticisms of the P5’s ability to veto resolutions and reaffirmed Brazil’s commitment towards a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
Terrorist attacks
The insistence on maintaining Brazil’s appearance of neutrality was also a cause of diplomatic tension on 8 November, when the Israeli government congratulated its intelligence agency Mossad for helping Brazilian police arrest suspects who were believed to have been planning terrorist attacks on Jewish communities in Brazil. Earlier that day, Brazil’s federal police (PF) arrested two individuals suspected of having been recruited by Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group which has supported Hamas and has been exchanging fire with the Israeli army since 8 October.
The Israeli government’s statement tried to link the attempted terrorist attacks in Brazil to the “backdrop” of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Conib similarly praised the arrest of the suspected terrorists, stating that “the tragic events in the Middle East cannot be imported to our country”.
However, Lula’s justice & public security minister, Flávio Dino, criticised the Israeli government statement. In its announcement of the operation on 8 November, the PF did not explicitly confirm that the arrested suspects were members of Hezbollah, so Dino took issue with Israel describing them as such even before PF investigators have confirmed all the details, saying that the attempt to anticipate the results of the investigation constituted “undue interference”. He said that the PF does not take orders from a foreign force and does not take sides, and that this investigation has nothing to do with international conflicts.?
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