Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Saturday that his country will stop its coal exports to Israel as the genocide in the Gaza Strip continues.
The leftist Pietro wrote on the X platform, that Colombia will “suspend coal exports to Israel until it stops the genocide.”
BREAKING 🇨🇴 President Gustavo Petro has declared that Colombia will “suspend coal exports to Israel until it stops the genocide.”
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) June 8, 2024
In May, he announced the severing of diplomatic relations between his country and Israel, describing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “committing genocide” against the Palestinians.
Israel was quick to denounce Petro’s position, saying that it was a “reward” for Hamas, which for its part welcomed the announcement, considering it a “victory.”
Last month, Petro called on the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Colombia announced last May that it would open an embassy in Ramallah in the Palestinian territories, according to what was published in Al-Jazeera.
Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Murillo told reporters that President Petro, who is considered one of Netanyahu’s harshest critics, issued instructions “to open an embassy for Colombia in Ramallah” in the West Bank.
This announcement came on the same day that Ireland, Norway, and Spain announced their recognition of a Palestinian state, more than seven months after the bloody genocide in Gaza.
Colombia and Brazil also supported the complaint filed by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice, accusing it of violating the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, which was approved in 1948.
