Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira described the Israeli response to his country's president's statements as false and disgraceful (Anatolia)
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said that Israel is trying to cover up its attacks on the Gaza Strip, and that the Israeli Foreign Ministry's statements are unacceptable in form and content, stressing that his country informed Israel that it will respond in accordance with diplomatic norms.
Vieira accused Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz of lying, as the diplomatic dispute escalated between the two countries, against the backdrop of Brazilian President Lula da Silva accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, and likening the massacres it committed in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust to which the Jews were subjected during World War II.
The Brazilian Foreign Minister said that President da Silva cannot undo something that exists, which is the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
He added, "It is a shameful page in the history of Israeli diplomacy," noting that Israel is trying to cover up what is happening in Gaza.
The Israeli Foreign Minister said the day before Monday that the Brazilian president would remain “persona non grata” in Israel, until he retracted his statements in which he compared the Israeli war on Gaza to the genocide committed by the Nazis against the Jews.
A statement issued by Katz's office said that the minister told the Brazilian ambassador, "We will not forget and we will not forgive. It is a dangerous anti-Semitic attack. Tell President Lula - in my name and in the name of the citizens of Israel - that he is persona non grata in Israel so that he will withdraw."
Da Silva made statements to journalists during his participation in an African Union summit in Addis Ababa last Sunday, in which he said, “What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war, it is genocide,” adding, “It is not a war of soldiers against soldiers, it is a war between a high-level army.” Of readiness, women and children.”
The Brazilian president added that this "did not happen at any other stage in history," before adding, "In fact, it had already happened when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."
This comparison angered Israel, which declared Lula “persona non grata,” and its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, believed that the Brazilian president had “crossed the red line.”
Last Monday, the Israeli Foreign Minister summoned the Brazilian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Frederico Mayer, to reprimand him. In return, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to it, Daniel Zonshinim, and also summoned its ambassador from Tel Aviv for consultations.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies