Colombian President Gustavo Petro has asserted that the international community must “block” Netanyahu, stating that the country will suspend “all arms purchases from Israel.” The decision came following Israeli forces’ firing upon a starving Palestinians awaiting humanitarian aid in northern Gaza, murdering over 100 civilians and injuring dozens, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
An Israeli military source admitted that the army shelled Palestinian seekers for humanitarian aid in Gaza City. “More than 100 Palestinians, who were begging for food, were murdered by Netanyahu. This is called genocide and reminds us of the Holocaust even if the world powers do not like to recognize it,” Petro stated.
Colombia was among the earliest nations to denounce Israel’s military assault on Gaza. Petro has consistently criticized the regime’s ground and aerial attacks on Palestinians in the coastal territory. “The world must block Netanyahu. Colombia suspends all purchases of weapons from Israel.”
Colombia is among 130 countries that have procured weaponry, drones, and cyber espionage technology from Israel, a country ranked as the world’s tenth-largest arms exporter. In October, after the initiation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, Israel announced the suspension of security exports to Colombia. This decision came in response to Petro’s criticism of Israeli Minister for Military Affairs Yoav Gallant for using language about the people of Gaza similar to what the Nazis did. “Democratic peoples cannot allow Nazism to reestablish itself in international politics,” Colombia’s president has also confirmed.
Israel launched a deadly military offensive in the Gaza Strip on October 7. Subsequently, over 30,035 Palestinians have been killed, with 70,457 others injured, amid extensive destruction and shortages of essential supplies. The Israeli aggression has resulted in 85 percent of Gaza’s population being internally displaced, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. Additionally, the United Nations reports that 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or demolished.
