THE NEW YORK TIMES: Chile and Colombia said they were recalling their ambassadors to Israel in light of the strikes.
Bolivia has severed relations with Israel over its strikes on Gaza, a diplomatic decision that Israel condemned as a “surrender to terrorism” even as its own ties with other countries in Latin America began to fray.
Bolivia announced the decision on Tuesday. Two other Latin American governments — in Chile and Colombia — said the same day that they were recalling their ambassadors to Israel in light of the strikes on Gaza, which have come in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed about 1,400 people and left more than 200 others as hostages.
In a statement, Chile accused Israel of refusing to respect international laws and said its airstrikes were a “collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.”
On Wednesday, Israel responded, saying that Colombian and Chilean citizens were among the victims on Oct. 7. “Israel expects Colombia and Chile to support the right of a democratic country to protect its citizens,” Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had cut diplomatic ties “in protest and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip, which threatens international peace and security.” » | Cassandra Vinograd and Emma Bubola | Wednesday, November 1, 2023
