Israeli Embassy says it did not invite Bolsonaro to a meeting in the Chamber

The Israeli Embassy in Brazil stated this Thursday (9) that it did not invite former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to participate in the meeting with opposition parliamentarians. Bolsonaro participated in the meeting with ambassador Daniel Zohar Zonshine, held in the Chamber of Deputies this Wednesday (8), in which images of the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas against Israel, which started the war on October 7, were presented.

“Yesterday’s meeting at the National Congress was intended to show, as was done to Brazilian journalists, the atrocities of October 7th committed by Hamas terrorists. Very raw and sensitive material. We invite parliamentarians and just parliamentarians. The presence of the former president was not coordinated by the Israeli Embassy and was not known before the event, occurring fortuitously”, says the note from the diplomatic representation published on social network.

Bolsonaro’s presence at the meeting has been the target of criticism from government parliamentarians. The president of the PT, federal deputy Gleisi Hoffmann (PR), said that the manipulation of the conflict between Israel and the extremist group Hamas is “totally condemnable” and that the “spurious alliance between Bolsonaro and the Israeli ambassador is even more repugnant”, because “it involves the safety and lives of Brazilian citizens kept under siege and threat in the military massacre in the Gaza Strip region”.

Federal deputy Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ) asked Itamaraty to evaluate and request the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Brazil. In the note, the embassy thanked the Brazilian authorities involved in Operation Trapiche, which dismantled a group suspected of planning a terrorist attack against Jews in Brazil.

The embassy also highlighted that the “Israeli government never created obstacles or refused to allow Brazilians to leave Gaza”. This afternoon, the Foreign Minister of Israel, Eli Cohen, “assured” Itamaraty that Brazilians will be on the list of foreigners authorized to leave the Gaza Strip this Friday (10).