Israel's foreign minister on Monday said that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was not welcome in Israel until he takes back his comments likening the war against Hamas militants in Gaza to the Nazi genocide during World War Two.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gives a speech during his visit to the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt February 15, 2024. Reuters/Mohamed Abdel-Ghany
Israel's foreign minister on Monday said that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was not welcome in Israel until he takes back his comments likening the war against Hamas militants in Gaza to the Nazi genocide during World War Two.
"We will not forget nor forgive. It is a serious antisemitic attack. In my name and the name of the citizens of Israel - tell President Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he takes it back," Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Brazil's ambassador, according to a statement from Katz's office.
Israel has accused Lula of trivialising the Holocaust and causing offense to the Jewish people, and Katz had summoned the Brazilian ambassador for a reprimand over the remarks.
Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz declared Monday that Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for an indefinite period, in a pointed statement that makes no reference to the US-Iran framework agreement announced the same day.
Authorities in southern Lebanon warned people displaced by three months of war between Israel and Hezbollah against rushing home on Monday despite a U.S.-Iran deal to end the wider conflict, as Israel said it would not withdraw troops from the south.
Let us call it what it is. The framework agreement on Iran is not a peace deal. It is a capitulation dressed up in diplomatic language, and its most immediate victims are the two countries that have paid the highest price in blood and treasure to confront Iran's aggression: Israel and Lebanon.
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