Mauro Vieira visits Palestine amid the crisis between Brazil and Israel

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, visits the West Bank, territory of Palestine, amid the diplomatic crisis between the Brazilian government and Israel. This Sunday (17), Vieira met with the Chancellor of the Palestinian Authority, Riad Malki. At the meeting, Malki highlighted President Lula’s “courageous role in defending Palestine and the Palestinians”, as reported by Itamaraty.

In addition to the West Bank, the Brazilian chancellor will visit three other regions in the Middle East: Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia — Israel was not included in the itinerary. Vieira arrived in the West Bank this Sunday and his first appointment in the region was with Malki. At the meeting, the chancellor described “the extreme gravity of the humanitarian situation in Gaza” and said that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) showed “leadership, courage, commitment and humanism throughout the current crisis in Gaza”.

There are two Palestinian territories in the Middle East region: the West Bank (located in the Jordan River valley) and the Gaza Strip (located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea). While the Palestinian Authority rules in the West Bank, the terrorist group Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip. It was terrorists, in fact, who started the war against Israel in the region.

Mauro Vieira’s visit to the West Bank comes at a time when negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas gain new developments. But it happens, above all, in the face of the diplomatic crisis between Brazil and Israel. Since the beginning of the conflict, Lula has criticized the Israeli counteroffensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and even accused the country of committing genocide against the Palestinian population living in the region.

More recently, the Brazilian president even compared Israel’s actions to the Holocaust committed by Adolf Hitler during the Second World War. In light of the comment, the Israeli government classified Lula persona non grata to the country until he apologized for the statement. The PT member, however, will not go back. Since then, the two countries have faced a climate of tension.

This week, Mauro Vieira went so far as to say that Brazil will maintain its “firm” position and that the diplomatic relationship must “survive”. On the agenda for the Middle East, Itamaraty also informed that the chancellor will discuss “regional issues of relevance and mutual interest, in particular the conflict and the acute humanitarian crisis affecting the Gaza Strip and its population, as well as the prospects for establishing a ceasefire and eventual resumption of negotiations aimed at achieving lasting peace for the Middle East”.

Mauro Vieira also reiterated Brazil’s support for Palestine to be admitted as a member of the United Nations (UN). The chancellor visited the Brazilian Representative Office in Ramallah and, accompanied by ambassador Alessandro Candeias, met with Fatima Rashid Hamayel, president of the Council of Brazilian Citizens in Palestine, and with Jamila Abed, who is also a member of the Council.