The number of people killed in this round of fighting has surpassed 10,000, and there has been increasing international pressure on Israel to end its collective punishment in the Gaza Strip. Analysts predicted that after Bolivia decided to cut diplomatic ties with Israel, other countries would take steps to put pressure on Israel and the US to agree to a cease-fire.
Bolivia’s deputy foreign minister, Freddy Mamani Machaca, said during a press conference on Tuesday that his country “decided to break diplomatic relations with the Israeli state in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip.” Two other South American nations, Chile and Colombia, have reportedly summoned their Israeli ambassadors back.
In protest of Jerusalem’s actions in the fight against Hamas, Jordan withdrew its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday, the foreign ministry in Amman said, according to media reports.
One of the first countries to cut diplomatic ties with Israel in protest of the latter’s military actions in Gaza was Bolivia. Tian Wenlin, a professor at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday that their actions, along with those of Chile and Colombia, are intended to demonstrate solidarity and support for the Palestinian people and to voice dissatisfaction with Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Bolivia severed its relations with Israel in 2009 in opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza, as part of the policies of leftist President Evo Morales’ administration. The relationships were restored in 2020 under the administration of right-wing acting President Jeanine Anez. The governments of Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia are socialist.
Bolivia is arming itself with Hamas, according to a post on X on Wednesday by Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A large number of the region’s leftist governments and leaders have made the decision to stand up for the poor and base their diplomatic choices on justice. Furthermore, more Global South nations are gaining strategic autonomy and battling to uphold the legitimacy and equity of international law as the West fades away and the Global South expands, according to Tian.
Regarding the current situation in Gaza, Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia have all raised the crucial subject of international law. According to a statement released by the Chilean Foreign Ministry, the decision to recall the ambassador was made “in the face of the unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.”
In the Middle East, cutting connections and removing diplomats are regular practices, despite the fact that these are extreme measures to show disapproval of Israel’s actions. Tian added that other countries with frozen relations with Israel might choose to follow suit.
Furthermore, a worsening of the humanitarian situation in Gaza would put more pressure on Arab countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Israel. The expert speculated that some of these countries might cut their connections with Israel in an effort to appease their own populace.
Determining whether to cut diplomatic ties can be more challenging for Arab countries that have diplomatic ties with Israel because normalizing relations required a lot of work and they had to consider the US. Li Weijian, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies’ Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, told the Global Times that it is evident that future normalization talks between Israel and other Arab countries will be more difficult.
Prior to Hamas’s unexpected strike against Israel on October 7, Saudi Arabia and Israel were in the midst of negotiations for a normalization of relations mediated by the US. On October 14, AFP reported that Saudi Arabia had decided to halt the negotiations and had notified US officials of this decision.
increasing demand for a truce
At the time of publication on Wednesday, more than 10,000 people had perished in this round of hostilities between Israel and Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that 21,543 additional people were injured and 8,525 people have died, of whom 3,542 were children and 2,187 were women.
Israel persisted in its ground assault within Gaza. The Gaza-based health ministry reports that 50 people were killed by an Israeli air strike at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Tuesday. However, a local hospital reported 400 patients, 120 of whom were fatal.
The Arab community denounced Israeli airstrikes on the camp for refugees on Tuesday. The UAE denounced “the severity of the bombing carried out by Israel on the Jabalia camp in the Gaza Strip” in a statement from its Foreign Ministry, emphasizing that “the continuation of the senseless bombing will lead the region to repercussions that are difficult to remedy.”
Wang Wenbin, the spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated on Wednesday that China is horrified by the high number of civilian deaths in the airstrike and vehemently denounces such actions.
Wang stated that China calls on all sides, particularly the Israeli side, to exercise the utmost calm and restraint, properly carry out the resolution passed by the UN General Assembly on October 27, immediately put an end to hostilities, fully protect civilians, open up corridors for humanitarian aid as soon as feasible, and prevent an even worse humanitarian catastrophe.
Wang emphasized that China will keep pushing for an early, comprehensive, just, and long-lasting resolution of the Palestinian question within the UN Security Council, as well as for the promotion of a ceasefire and the safety of civilians.
The international community and China are working harder to achieve a ceasefire, but the US is still only supporting Israel on one side. John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, informed reporters on Monday that the US does not think a ceasefire “is the right answer right now.”
According to Li, the US has been under more pressure from abroad as the Biden administration has come under increasing fire on the matter.
