Israel declares Brazil’s president Lula ‘persona non grata’ over Gaza remarks it deems ‘serious antisemitic attack’
Israel has declared Brazilâs president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a âpersona non grataâ over comments he made in which he accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza which he compared to the actions of Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust.
Having summoned Brazilâs ambassador for a reprimand, Israelâs foreign minister Israel Katz issued a statement saying:
We will not forget nor forgive. It is a serious antisemitic attack. In my name and the name of the citizens of Israel â tell president Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he takes it back.
At the weekend, Brazilâs president had said âwhat is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasnât been seen in any other moment in history. Actually, it did when Hitler decided to kill the Jews. Whatâs happening in the Gaza Strip isnât a war, itâs a genocide. Itâs not a war of soldiers against soldiers. Itâs a war between a highly prepared army and women and children.â
Ahead of the diplomatic meeting this morning, senior political correspondent Lahav Harkov at the Jewish Insider had made these observations at how unusual the setting was, noting:
[Katz is] doing a few unusual things: The reprimand will happen at Yad Vashem. Katz is doing it himself and not a foreign minister deputy director-general. Also, he invited the media to a statement immediately after. The statement is unusual in of itself, but it also means that photographers will be around to catch the ambassador leaving the reprimand. Thatâs the kind of thing that doesnât necessarily seem like a big deal, but for diplomats, takes the reprimand up a level.
Benjamin Netanyahu described the words as âshameful and alarmingâ and âa trivialization of the Holocaustâ.
This morning the health ministry in Gaza reported that over 29,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 69,000 injured as a result of Israelâs military action within the Gaza Strip.
Key events
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that this morning Israeli forces âaccompanied by military bulldozersâ have razed ground in the village of Husan, west of occupied Bethlehem, to prepare for road-building. It reports that 500m of âcitizensâ lands at the eastern entrance to the villageâ was destroyed.
The Times of Israel reports that after the statement in public at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial declaring Brazilâs president to be âpersona non grataâ in Israel over his recent comments about Israel, Israelâs foreign minister Israel Katz personally toured the memorial with Brazilâs ambassador Federico Mayer and directly showed him the names of Katzâs grandparents who were killed during the Holocaust.
Confirmation Rubymar damaged, crew evacuated after Red Sea attack, as UKMTO reports new incident
The Belize-flagged cargo ship Rubymar sustained damaged after two missiles were fired at the vessel from Yemen, although the crew were able to evacuate, the vesselâs security company told Reuters on Monday.
A spokesperson for maritime security company LSS-SAPU said the vessel was struck astern, although there was nothing flammable aboard.
âThere is nobody on board now,â the spokesperson said. âThe owners and mangers are considering options for towage.â
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has just issued a notice about another reported attack. It reported:
UKMTO has received a report of an incident 100NM east of Aden, Yemen. Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.
Dr Namira Negm has been speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, presenting evidence which she claims shows that Israel has set up an apartheid system in the occupied Palestine territories.
She has cited previous court rulings about the definition of apartheid, and cited quotes from Israeli officials describing the children of Palestinians as âsnakesâ.
She said âStarting from the Nakba in 1948, Israel has adopted discriminatory legislation measures which has established a deeply entrenched system of racial discrimination against Palestinians. Discrimination against Palestinian people is as integral to Israelâs prolonged occupation as is annexation and colonisation of territroy.â
She says that under the leagal system imposed by Israel, settlers are rarely punished for crimes against Palestinian people or property, while Palestinians âendure horrific levels of human and material losses, including home demolitions enforced as collective punishmentâ.
International Court of Justice resumes hearing into the ‘policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory’
The International Court of Justice hearing into the âpolicies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territoryâ is resuming.
You can watch it here:
In the first session, Palestinian Authority foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki demanded an immediate end to Israelâs occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Al-Maliki accused Israel of subjecting Palestinians to decades of discrimination and apartheid arguing that they had been left with the choice of âdisplacement, subjugation, or deathâ.
âThe only solution consistent with international law is for this illegal occupation to come to an immediate, unconditional and total end,â Reuters reports he said.
âThe genocide under way in Gaza is a result of decades of impunity and inaction. Ending Israelâs impunity is a moral, political and legal imperative,â al-Maliki added.
Israeli has in the past disputed that the territories are formally occupied on the basis that they were captured from Jordan and Egypt in 1967, and not from a sovereign Palestine.
The court has previously found against Israel on the issue of the West Bank, declaring in 2004 that the barrier being built around the West Bank was illegal and should be pulled down, a ruling which Israel has ignored.
Benjamin Netanyahuâs office have confirmed that this morning Israelâs prime minister met US senators Chris Coons (Democratic party, Delaware) and Richard Blumenthal (Dem, Connecticut).
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, with US Senators Chris Coons and Richard Blumenthal.
The Director of the National Security Council, the PM’s Foreign Policy Adviser and the US Ambassador to Israel also attended the meeting pic.twitter.com/sJfG1LI0Y0
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 19, 2024
Emanuel Fabian, who is military correspondent at the Times of Israel, has posted this picture of the site of the investigation into a reported fallen drone in northern Israel.
An apparent drone or other projectile hit an open area near the community of Arbel in the Lower Galilee, close to the Sea of Galilee.
Police say officers are at the scene handling the incident.
Local authorities say there are no injuries. pic.twitter.com/2tVcEHRmxd
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) February 19, 2024
Israel declares Brazil’s president Lula ‘persona non grata’ over Gaza remarks it deems ‘serious antisemitic attack’
Israel has declared Brazilâs president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a âpersona non grataâ over comments he made in which he accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza which he compared to the actions of Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust.
Having summoned Brazilâs ambassador for a reprimand, Israelâs foreign minister Israel Katz issued a statement saying:
We will not forget nor forgive. It is a serious antisemitic attack. In my name and the name of the citizens of Israel â tell president Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he takes it back.
At the weekend, Brazilâs president had said âwhat is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasnât been seen in any other moment in history. Actually, it did when Hitler decided to kill the Jews. Whatâs happening in the Gaza Strip isnât a war, itâs a genocide. Itâs not a war of soldiers against soldiers. Itâs a war between a highly prepared army and women and children.â
Ahead of the diplomatic meeting this morning, senior political correspondent Lahav Harkov at the Jewish Insider had made these observations at how unusual the setting was, noting:
[Katz is] doing a few unusual things: The reprimand will happen at Yad Vashem. Katz is doing it himself and not a foreign minister deputy director-general. Also, he invited the media to a statement immediately after. The statement is unusual in of itself, but it also means that photographers will be around to catch the ambassador leaving the reprimand. Thatâs the kind of thing that doesnât necessarily seem like a big deal, but for diplomats, takes the reprimand up a level.
Benjamin Netanyahu described the words as âshameful and alarmingâ and âa trivialization of the Holocaustâ.
This morning the health ministry in Gaza reported that over 29,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 69,000 injured as a result of Israelâs military action within the Gaza Strip.
The Interational Court of Justice in The Hague is taking a break after hearing evidence about the legality and nature of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jurasalem. It will reconvene in ten minutes.
Number of Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli action since 7 October rises about 29,000 â ministry
The health ministry in Gaza has said the number of Palestinians killed in the territory by Israeli military action since 7 October has risen to 29,092.
In the past 24 hours, 107 Palestinians were killed and 145 injured, Reuters reports the ministry said in its statement. 69,028 are reported injured in total.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify casualty figures being issued during the conflict.