From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Brazil president claims Israeli response to Oct. 7 ‘as grave’ as Hamas atrocities
BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil’s president accuses Israel of “killing innocent people without any criteria” in the Gaza Strip, deeming its actions there “as grave” as the October 7 attacks by Palestinian terror group Hamas.
“After the act of terrorism provoked by Hamas, the consequences, the solution of the state of Israel, is as grave as that of Hamas. They are killing innocent people without any criteria,” says Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at an official ceremony in Brasilia.
The leader of Latin America’s largest country also accuses Israel of “dropping bombs where there are children, hospitals, on the pretext that a terrorist is there.”
“This is inexplicable. First you have to save the women and children, then you fight with whomever you want,” Lula says.
Representatives of Brazil’s Jewish community denounce these remarks as “erroneous,” “unfair” and “dangerous,” adding that they “put Israel and Hamas on the same level.”
They defend the “visible and proven” efforts of the Israeli authorities “to save Palestinian civilians.”
“Our community expects balance from our authorities,” adds the Israeli Confederation of Brazil, which claims to represent some 120,000 Brazilian Jews, the second largest community in the region, in a statement.
