Backlash after Israel’s freeing of longest serving Palestinian prisoner

Sao Paulo, Brazil: Chile’s announcement that it will open an embassy in Palestine, and Brazil’s new government abandoning its predecessor’s pro-Israel foreign policy, raised hopes in Latin America about a change in the regional stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. have increased

On January 1, just a day after leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office, Brazil announced a radical change in its diplomacy.

New Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira referred to the Palestinian issue in his opening speech, saying that Brazil would “resume its traditional and balanced stance from seven decades” and supported the two-state solution as “an entirely viable, international co-exist safely along recognized boundaries at the level.”

For most of the past half century, Latin America has been sharply divided over Israel and Palestine.

Conservative regimes focused on shared Judeo-Christian values, trade ties and military cooperation with Israel, while left-wing nationalism, anti-colonialism, the struggle for independence and a shared history with the Palestinian diaspora.

On 5 January, during a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir’s provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, the Brazilian delegation said the act was “severely unacceptable”. dangerous” and could escalate violence in the region. ,

This was a major change in Brazilian policy, as right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro was a staunch ally of Israel and had even planned to move his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

He abandoned the idea after opposition from Arab countries, which threatened Brazil’s trade with the Arab and Muslim worlds.

The announcement of Brazil’s new diplomacy comes just a fortnight after Chile’s leftist President Gabriel Boric revealed his plans to turn his country’s representative office in the Palestinian city of Ramallah into an embassy.

He revealed his intention during Christmas celebrations on 21 December at Club Deportivo Palestino, a social sports organization created by Palestinian immigrants in the 1920s.

For years, communities in Latin America have come together to condemn Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Strong solidarity with Palestine on the continent has pressured governments to condemn Israel’s actions.

Chile has the world’s largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East, consisting of an estimated 500,000 people.

“We cannot forget a community that is suffering from an illegal occupation, a community that is protesting, a community that is having its rights and its dignity violated, and this is absolutely unfair,” Boric said.

The next day, Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urezola reaffirmed the embassy plan but provided no timeline.

Experts see Boric’s decision as an invitation to other Latin American countries to follow suit. “This was not only an action aimed at intensifying relations between the two countries (Chile and Palestine) and fully recognizing the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, it was also a gesture to be emulated by other regional leaders.” Could be,” Palestinian-Chilean political analyst Jaime Abedrapo told Arab News.

He noted that Chile’s foreign ministry had been slowly moving toward such a plan over the years, and that broad sections of society, including right-wing politicians, supported Boric’s announcement.

“We must emphasize that the Chilean-Jewish community recognized the legitimacy of the measure,” Abedrapo said.

In his opinion, the fact that Brazil is again following Lula’s agenda for the Middle East is very relevant given the country’s importance in Latin America.

The election of Lula and other leftists on the continent is seen as an opportune moment to adopt measures that could benefit the Palestinian people.

“Why did Borik announce his plan now? Because there are favorable conditions for this,” Ulaid Rabah, president of the Palestinian Arab Federation of Brazil, told Arab News. “Even before Lula took office, his political stance on Palestine and Israel had already influenced the Latin American diplomatic landscape.”

Rabah compares the current situation to 2010, when then-President Lula recognized the State of Palestine with the 1967 borders. Other Latin American countries followed suit.

“Borik had the political sensitivity to realize it and take action,” Rabah said, expressing confidence that Lula would consolidate the policies he initiated during his two terms (between 2003 and 2010) and which Later it was frozen.

These include four cooperation agreements signed between Brazil and Palestine in 2010 relating to free trade, education, culture and technology.

“Those deals were sabotaged by extremists, including Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro (Jair Bolsonaro’s son), during the process in Congress,” Rabah said. “We had to work hard to see him approved now. I’m sure Lula will confirm him.

Such agreements will increase the exchange of people and goods between the two countries and strengthen their relationship.

Chileans and Brazilians committed to the Palestinian cause want to see more progress in the next few years.

Abedrapo said he is looking forward to “coherent and consistent steps”, including the establishment of a Chilean embassy in Bethlehem or Jerusalem. “It will have a huge symbolic impact,” he said.

Rabah said he and other activists are pressing the Brazilian government to “raise a clear voice against (Israeli) apartheid in Palestine”.

He added: “We want the Brazilian government to break ties with Israeli companies and institutions involved directly or indirectly in the invasion of territories in Palestine, for example.”

But Reginaldo Nasar, professor of foreign relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, said that although Boric and Lula’s measures would bring progress, it is unrealistic to expect major changes now.

Nasser told Arab News, “Lula had an ambiguous relationship with Palestine, noting that during his earlier administration he promoted initiatives important to the Palestinians, but also his country’s relations with Israel.” strengthened.”

He said: “Brazil bases its diplomacy on international law, but Israel goes far beyond that and hires settlers to dominate a region.”

In Nasser’s opinion, the Brazilian government should understand that there is no equality between Palestine and Israel, but a state of colonialism.

“If Brazilian policies do not take this into account, nothing can really change. Brazil will continue to act as an ally of Israel.

“The cost of going against Israel’s policies is very high. This is why the Palestinians have been alone in the international arena for so long,” Nasser said.