Deputies want Lula’s government to classify Hamas as a “terrorist organization”

Israel War

In a statement about the deaths of Brazilians in the war in Israel, Itamaraty did not mention the radical Islamic group

A group of 61 federal deputies wants the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to classify the radical Islamic group Hamas as a “terrorist organization”. The objective is for the Chamber to formalize a request for Itamaraty.

Last Saturday (7), the extremist organization attacked Israeli territory.

“The official declaration of Hamas as a terrorist organization is extremely important so that the Brazilian government can take firm measures against the organization,” says the nomination filed this Wednesday (11) by parliamentarians. The document is part of a pressure movement by the opposition.

The nomination is a suggestion and does not need to be voted on by the House plenary. The document is delivered to the Board of Directors, who may or may not forward it. Even if it reaches the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, the document does not cause any type of obligation.

Opposition and situation

Federal deputy Rodolfo Nogueira (PL-MS) leads the request. The majority of signatories (42) are from the PL and two were part of the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) — Eduardo Pazuello (RJ) and Mário Frias (SP). Republicans, Podemos, MDB, PSD, União Brasil, PP and Novo are the acronyms of the other signatories.

Two Brazilians have already been identified among those killed in the conflict, and the note released by Itamaraty about the incident does not mention the radical organization. The opposition criticizes the government for the lack of more emphatic statements about the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas.

On the other hand, PT members consider that the federal government should adopt a more critical tone towards Israel, as reported by analyst Clarissa Oliveira.

In 2021, ministers Paulo Pimenta (Secretariat of Social Communication) and Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations) signed a statement refuting the British government’s gesture of assigning the Islamic Resistance Movement-Hamas the designation of “terrorist organization”.

Itamaraty says Hamas’ assessment will be debated at the UN

Also this Wednesday, Ambassador Carlos Sérgio Sobral Duarte, secretary for Africa and the Middle East, said that Brazil’s classification of Hamas as a “terrorist group” will be debated at the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Today, the entity does not use this nomenclature in this case.

The ambassador said that the Brazilian government’s position was “very clear and very strong” and that, for now, there is no date for the next Council meeting. According to him, another ambassador, Sérgio França Danese, who is Brazil’s permanent representative at the UN, is engaged in consultations to “obtain consensus” among the members of the collegiate.

Lula makes new statement

This October, Brazil is presiding over the Security Council. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) published a statement on social media, addressed to the UN Secretary General, calling for the release of children held hostage by Hamas, a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and “international humanitarian intervention”.

The Palestinian ambassador to Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben, thanked Lula for his position, which he classified as “equitable and appropriate”.

*With information from CNN Brasil

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