Amid war against Hamas, how Israel is losing the diplomatic battle

The Israel-Hamas war is devastating. Over 9,000 people have died so far and nearly 30,000 have been injured. A whopping three million have been displaced from their homes and there will be thousands of others who will forever be scarred by the events unfolding there. The war has also led to countries choosing sides – on one hand, there is the pro-Israel stance, which views their actions as just, while, on the other hand, there’s the pro-Palestine stance. There are also countries like India that are remaining neutral amid the conflict, seeking peace in the region. Now, as the war continues , it seems more countries are choosing sides and countries in the Latin American region have unequivocally taken a strong stance against Israel in response to its recent war with Hamas. Many countries in that region have responded to the war in varying degrees – while one has severed diplomatic ties, others are recalling envoys and issuing strong statements against Jerusalem. Here’s a look at where some of these countries stand on the Israel-Hamas war. Bolivia cuts ties Bolivia, perhaps, sent one of the strongest messages by cutting diplomatic ties with Israel over what it describes as “aggressive and disproportionate” military actions in Gaza. On Wednesday, Bolivia’s deputy foreign minister Freddy Mamani said that the government had taken the decision to cut ties “in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip”. He added that the country wanted an end to Israel’s blockade that was preventing “the entry of food, water and other essential elements for life”. The move was hailed by the country’s influential former president, Evo Morales, who had earlier said, “Bolivia must declare the state of Israel as a terrorist state and file a complaint with the International Criminal Court.” [caption id=“attachment_13333432” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A man displays a placard reading “Stop Now the Killing and Genocide of the Palestinian People in Gaza” during a festival with more than 20 national and international artists organised by the Palestinian community of Chile, which aims to support the victims in Gaza, at Padre Hurtado Park in Santiago. AFP[/caption] Chile, Colombia recall ambassadors Bolivia is not the only Latin American country to have begun taking diplomatic steps against Israel. Chile’s president Gabriel Boric had previously said he was recalling the country’s ambassador in Tel Aviv for consultations “given the unacceptable violations of International Humanitarian Law that Israel has incurred in the Gaza Strip.” Chile has the largest, and one of the oldest, Palestinian communities outside the Arab world. Taking to social media platform X, Boric wrote: “Chile strongly condemns and observes with great concern that these military operations – which at this point in their development entail collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.” Colombian president Gustavo Petro made a similar announcement on social media. “I have decided to call our ambassador in Israel for consultation,” Petro said, adding that “if Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people we cannot be there.” The Colombian president also posted an image on X of dozens of bodies wrapped in sheets, saying, “The head of the state who carries out this genocide is a criminal against humanity.”

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Geopolitical analysts say that it doesn’t come as a surprise that these countries have taken such a step, as historically Left-leaning countries have sympathised with the Palestinian cause. Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America Program at the Wilson Centre in Washington, DC, said many of the South American leaders’ critiques of Israel’s response to the Hamas massacre are principled. But, “in many cases, criticism of Israel is a proxy for a worldview that reflexively regards the United States and its allies as bad actors. For US antagonists such as Evo Morales of Bolivia, sympathy for Hamas is the ultimate expression of an ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ foreign policy,” he told NPR. [caption id=“attachment_13333482” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A girl with a Palestinian flag painted on her face looks on as Jordanians gather during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Amman, Jordan. Reuters[/caption] Jordan recalls ambassador Away from the Latin American region, even Jordan , who is a close ally of the United States, recalled its ambassador to Israel in reaction to the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip and the mounting civilian death toll in Israel’s war against Hamas. Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Al-Safadi asked Rasan al-Majali to return to Amman as an “expression of Jordan’s position of rejection and condemnation of the raging Israeli war on Gaza, which is killing innocent people and causing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.” Additionally, Jordan also asked Israel’s foreign ministry not to send their ambassador, Rogel Rachman, back to Amman. Presently, Rachman has returned to Israel owing to the security threats in Jordan. Israel reacts Israel, which continues its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, has expressed regret that the countries have taken such a move. Following Jordan’s statement, Israel’s foreign ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said that his country “regrets” the decision. In the press statement, posted on X, he wrote, “The State of Israel is focused on the war imposed on it by the murderous terrorist attack by Hamas, a terrorist organization that massacred 1400 Israelis and kidnapped 240 women, children, babies and the elderly. Israel is targeting the terrorists of Hamas and the terrorist infrastructure of this organisation, which uses the civilians of the Gaza Strip as human shields.” In reaction to Bolivia, Haiat said the move was “a surrender to terrorism” and accused the Bolivian government of “aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organisation”. “Israel condemns Bolivia’s support of terrorism and its submission to the Iranian regime, which attest to the values the government of Bolivia represents,” Haiat said in response. Israel also asked both – Chile and Colombia – to “condemn the Hamas terrorist organisation, which slaughtered and abducted babies, children, women and the elderly”. “Israel expects Colombia and Chile to support the right of a democratic country to protect its citizens, and to call for the immediate release of all the abductees, and not align themselves with Venezuela and Iran in support of Hamas terrorism,” Israel’s foreign ministry said. Earlier, Israel also recalled its diplomatic envoys to Turkey because of “grave statements” made by Ankara. The announcement came after Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a massive protest crowd in Istanbul that his government was preparing to declare Israel a “war criminal” due to its actions in the Gaza Strip. With inputs from agencies