Brazil calls ambassador to Israel for consultations
Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira has called for the Brazilian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Frederico Meyer, to return to Brazil for consultations. Meyer is scheduled to leave Israel on Tuesday (Feb. 20).
In a corresponding move, the Israeli ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Zonshine, was also summoned to the Foreign Ministry Palace in Rio de Janeiro on Monday (19).
According to the Brazilian ministry, these measures were taken "given the seriousness of recent statements made by the Israeli government." Mauro Vieira is currently in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 meeting.
On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz once more criticized President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for his comments regarding Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip. Katz went as far as to declare Lula persona non grata in Israel.
The persona non grata declaration is a recognized legal instrument in international relations. It is a prerogative that countries use to indicate that a foreign official representative is no longer welcome as such on their territory.
During a press conference on his official trip to Ethiopia, the Brazilian president classified the civilian deaths in Gaza as genocide. He also criticized developed countries for reducing or cutting humanitarian aid to the region, stating, "What is happening in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian people does not exist at any other time in history. In fact, it existed when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."
