Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Monday that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not be welcome in Israel until he retracts his comments comparing the war against Hamas in Gaza to the Nazi genocide during World War II.
“We will not forget nor forgive. This is a serious anti-Semitic attack. On behalf of myself and the citizens of Israel, tell President Lula that he is “persona non grata” in Israel until I withdraw it,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Brazilian Ambassador Frederico Meyer, according to a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry reported by the Sputnik news agency.
Lula on Sunday accused Israel of committing “genocide” of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and compared its actions to Adolf Hitler’s campaign to exterminate Jews.
The statement provoked a strong response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused Lula of trivializing the Holocaust, and anticipated the summoning of Ambassador Meyer.
“What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war, it is a genocide” Lula stated this to the press in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where he is participating in the African Union (EU) summit.
“What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has not happened at any other time in history. In fact, it happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” he added.
The Brazilian leader’s statement also had repercussions in Brazil, as Bolsonaro’s far-right announced that it will promote a political trial against Lula and incorporated the issue into the call for a march in defense of former president Jair Bolsonaro scheduled for Sunday next.
ISRAEL PALESTINE BRAZIL
Source: Clarin
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