Nicaragua breaks diplomatic ties with Israel amid ongoing Gaza war
After the country’s Congress passed a resolution calling for action following the one-year anniversary of the Gaza war on October 7, Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo made the announcement to the press on Friday.
The government was instructed to “sever diplomatic relations with the fascist and genocidal government of Israel,” according to Murillo, who is President Daniel Ortega’s wife.
Since Israel has no permanent ambassador in Managua and because bilateral ties are nearly nonexistent, the announcement is largely symbolic.
Despite the announcement, Israel is currently facing growing diplomatic scrutiny as a result of a brutal campaign in Gaza and more attacks in the Middle East, including in Lebanon.
The death toll in Gaza has spiralled past 42, 000 people, and thousands more have been killed in the bombing campaign in Lebanon, many in the last few weeks.
The government of Nicaragua on Friday criticized Israel’s occupation of Gaza, saying it now “extends against Lebanon and gravely threatens Syria, Yemen, and Iran.”
Leftist leaders in countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Chile have recently emerged as outspoken critics of Israel because of the relatively high opposition to the Gaza war in Latin America.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whom Israel declared persona non grata last week, was spearheaded by the Palestinian mission’s announcement on Friday.
In May, Colombian President Gustavo Petro cut diplomatic ties with Israel and criticized the Israeli Prime Minister’s administration as “genocidal.” Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the country’s ambassador to Israel, was also summoned that month and compared the conflict in Gaza to the Holocaust.
The Ortega government’s request to stop German arms sales to Israel was rejected by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in April.
Source: Aljazeera
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