In an unexpected turn of events, the Brazilian government, under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has dismissed Israel's recent efforts to ease diplomatic tensions between the two nations, Middle East Monitor reported.
According to Brazilian media, citing diplomatic sources, Israel's Foreign Ministry reached out to Brazil in an attempt to reduce tensions and facilitate the appointment of a new Israeli ambassador in Brasília. However, despite the diplomatic communication, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry neither accepted nor rejected the proposal.
This silence has been seen by Israeli officials in Tel Aviv as an implicit rejection of efforts to restore closer diplomatic relations.
This incident is the latest in the tensions between da Silva’s government and Israel.
Last year, da Silva caused an uproar when he compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler against Jews during World War II.
"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.
Brazil’s Ambassador to Israel was later summoned by the Foreign Ministry for a reprimand in the wake of da Silva’s comments, and was informed that da Silva was considered persona non grata in Israel.
Later, da Silva announced that the Brazilian ambassador to Israel would be recalled and that Brazil has decided to summon Israel's ambassador to the country for a reprimand.
Despite the uproar over his comments, the Brazilian President doubled down on his rhetoric, writing on X, “What the Israeli government is doing is not war, it is genocide. Children and women are being murdered.”
This stands in stark contrast to the relations between Israel when former President Jair Bolsonaro, a staunch supporter of Israel, was in office.