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Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses African heads of state during the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 17, 2024. Minasse Wondu Hailu, EPA-EFE.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses African heads of state during the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 17 February 2024. The summit, themed 'Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century', runs through 18 February 2024.  EPA-EFE/MINASSE WONDU HAILU

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37th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa

Agence France-Presse

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/12034387.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Brazil&#x27;s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses African heads of state during the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 17, 2024. Minasse Wondu Hailu, EPA-EFE."/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Brazil&#x27;s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses African heads of state during the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 17, 2024. <em>Minasse Wondu Hailu, EPA-EFE.</em></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel Sunday of committing &quot;genocide&quot; against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and compared its actions to Adolf Hitler&#x27;s campaign to exterminate Jews.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In response, Israel&#x27;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the 78-year-old president&#x27;s comments &quot;shameful and grave&quot; and said his government had called in Brazil&#x27;s ambassador in protest.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa, where he was attending an African Union summit, that what was happening in the Gaza Strip &quot;isn&#x27;t a war, it&#x27;s a genocide&quot;.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;It&#x27;s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It&#x27;s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,&quot; added the veteran leftist.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;What&#x27;s happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn&#x27;t happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.&quot;</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Lula, a prominent voice for the global south whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20, previously condemned Hamas&#x27;s October 7 attack on Israel as a &quot;terrorist&quot; act.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But he has since grown vocally critical of Israel&#x27;s retaliatory military campaign.</span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/18/prospects-for-ceasefire-dim-as-israel-rejects-calls-to-spare-rafah-1637"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/18/prospects-for-ceasefire-dim-as-israel-rejects-calls-to-spare-rafah-1637">READ: Prospects for ceasefire dim as Israel rejects calls to spare Rafah</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/17/fears-grow-for-crucial-gaza-hospital-after-israeli-raid-1415"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/17/fears-grow-for-crucial-gaza-hospital-after-israeli-raid-1415">READ: Fears grow for crucial Gaza hospital after Israeli raid</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Netanyahu called Lula&#x27;s remarks &quot;Holocaust trivialization and an attempt to harm the Jewish people and the right of Israel to defend itself&quot;.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;The comparison between Israel to the Holocaust of the Nazis and Hitler is crossing a red line,&quot; he said in a statement.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;Israel is fighting to defend itself and ensure its future until total victory and it is doing that while upholding international law.&quot;</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;I have decided with Foreign Minister (Israel) Katz to summon the Brazilian ambassador in Israel for an immediate reproach.&quot;</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Katz wrote on the X social media platform that the meeting would take place on Monday.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Hamas&#x27;s attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Militants also took about 250 people hostage, 130 of whom are still in Gaza, including 30 who are presumed dead, according to Israeli figures.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Israel&#x27;s assault on Gaza has killed at least 28,858 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory&#x27;s health ministry.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Lula criticized Western countries&#x27; recent decisions to halt aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, after Israel accused some of its employees of involvement in the October 7 attack.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Lula, who met with Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh Saturday on the sidelines of the summit, has said Brazil will increase its own contribution to the agency, and urged other countries to do the same.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He reiterated his call for a two-state solution to the conflict, with Palestine &quot;definitively recognized as a full and sovereign state.&quot;</span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/18/thousands-rally-against-netanyahu-s-government-in-tel-aviv-1721"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/18/thousands-rally-against-netanyahu-s-government-in-tel-aviv-1721">WATCH: Thousands rally against Netanyahu&#x27;s government in Tel Aviv</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel Sunday of committing "genocide" against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and compared its actions to Adolf Hitler's campaign to exterminate Jews.</p>

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel Sunday of committing "genocide" against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and compared its actions to Adolf Hitler's campaign to exterminate Jews.

Brazil's Lula accuses Israel of 'genocide' in Gaza

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Brazil's Lula accuses Israel of 'genocide' in Gaza

Agence France-Presse

Published Feb 19, 2024 12:33 AM PHT

Read More:

Israel

Gaza

Hamas

Palestine

Brazil

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Benjamin Netanyahu

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