Latin American countries condemn Israeli settlements
02/17/2023
In a joint communiqué, the four governments called for the resumption of negotiations on a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
The governments of Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico this Friday (02/17/2023) expressed “their deep concern” about the Israeli government’s decision to legalize new settlements in the West Bank, considering it a “violation” of international law. The joint note was published by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico view with deep concern the Israeli government’s decision to legalize nine outposts and build ten thousand homes in existing West Bank settlements,” the text reads. “These unilateral actions constitute serious violations of international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions,” she added.
“Our governments oppose any action that jeopardizes the viability of the two-state solution, in which Israel and Palestine can share secure and internationally recognized borders, while respecting both peoples’ legitimate aspirations to live in peace.
Turn of Brazil
The governments of Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina called on “Israelis and Palestinians to refrain from acts and provocations that could encourage a new escalation of violence” in the region and to “restart negotiations for a peaceful solution”.
The return of left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the Brazilian presidency on January 1 ended the four-year rapprochement with Israel by the government of far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, has also criticized the Israeli occupation and even led to some diplomatic disputes.
The Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last Monday the regularization of nine settlements built in the West Bank and occupied without state approval, a measure presented in response to an attack in Jerusalem last Friday in which a Palestinian rolled over and killed three Israelis. Let’s remember that according to international law, all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal.
DZC (EFE, AFP)