Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decided on Wednesday to recall the country's ambassador to Israel amid tension between the two countries.
Da Silva notified Ambassador Frederico Meyer that he would end his term as Brazilian Ambassador to Israel and would instead represent Brazil at the Disarmament Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the past, the far-left President has accused Israel of genocide and compared the war in Gaza to the Holocaust.
"What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not war. This is genocide. It is not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It is a war between a trained military against women and children. What is happening in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian people has not happened at almost any other time in history. In fact, it only happened once; when Hitler decided to kill the Jews," the Brazilian President charged.
Following the remarks, Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Ambassador Meyer, for a reprimand at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem.
"We will not forgive and we will not forget: In my name and in the name of all citizens of Israel, tell President Lula that he is a persona non grata in Israel until he apologizes and retracts his statements," Katz told the ambassador.