The News
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday that his country would sever diplomatic ties with Israel over the country’s war against Hamas, saying he was taking the step for “the girls, the boys, the babies who have died dismembered by the bombs.”
“The times of genocide, of the extermination of an entire people cannot come before our eyes, before our passivity,” Petro said. “If Palestine dies, humanity dies, and we are not going to let it die.”
Israel’s foreign minister on Wednesday said Colombia’s decision amounted to handing a “reward” to Hamas. “The Colombian president has promised to reward Hamas murderers and rapists — and today he delivered,” Israel Katz wrote on X.
Shortly after, the militant group issued a statement describing Colombia’s decision to cut ties with Israel as a “victory for the sacrifices of our people and their just cause” and called on other Latin American countries to do the same.
SIGNALS
Once close with Israel, Colombia joins growing list of nations backing away
Colombia joins a growing list of countries including Bolivia, Chile, Turkey, and South Africa that have taken diplomatic action against Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, either by withdrawing their ambassadors or suspending relations.
Before it severed ties, Colombia’s decision to remove its ambassador from Israel shortly after the war began surprised experts. The move “departs from the traditional close relations between the two countries,” a professor of international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told The Washington Post. But, as Al-Monitor reported, “Leftist heads of government across Latin America have broadly condemned Israel’s current military operation in Gaza.”
US lays groundwork to blame Hamas if ceasefire deal collapses
After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken applied more pressure on Hamas to agree to a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would last up to 40 days. “Hamas has to decide,” Blinken said. An X post from US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Hamas “the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire and relief for civilians” in Gaza, which The Wall Street Journal noted lays the groundwork to blame Hamas if the deal falls apart.
This particular deal could prove critical; Biden’s senior advisers have called it “the only conceivable path to a ceasefire in Gaza,” Axios reported. “There just has to be a deal,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday when asked about a backup plan if these negotiations aren’t successful.
Saudi Arabia and US look to seal deal that Israel will likely shun
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is inching toward a historic deal with the US that would set out a possible path for diplomatic ties with Israel and which could “reshape the Middle East” by bolstering Washington’s presence in the region, Bloomberg reported. It’s been some time coming: Saudi Arabia had been in talks aimed at normalizing relations with Israel before the October 7 attack put those discussions on ice. Now, Washington has the kingdom back at the table.
The potential deal could give Saudi Arabia access to more US weapons. In exchange, Riyadh would promise to limit some use of Chinese technology in favor of US investments, and bring the US in to build out its nuclear capacity. Israel would be given the option to join the deal, which could be in its interest, but that looks unlikely, as it would likely require Israel agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and a pathway to Palestinian statehood.