Colombia to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over 'Gaza genocide'

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced that his government will cut diplomatic ties with Israel for its human rights violations in Gaza.

He made the announcement while addressing a labour day rally in Bogotá on Wednesday.

Petro lashed out at Netanyahu for violating human rights in Palestine, terming Israel's invasion of Gaza as "genocide".

“Tomorrow, diplomatic relations with the state of Israel will be broken … for having a genocidal president,” the Colombian President said.

“If Palestine dies, humanity dies, and we are not going to let it die,” he noted.

It's pertinent to mention here that Colombia is one of Israel’s closest partners in Latin America.

However, relations between the two countries deteriorated after Petro, who is a vocal advocate of the Gaza genocide, assumed office in 2022.

At least 34,262 Palestinians have been killed and 77,229 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.