Israel said Sunday it is summoning the Brazilian ambassador to the country over what it says were “shameful and serious” remarks by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking earlier Sunday in Addis Ababa at the African Union summit, Lula called what is happening in the Gaza Strip a “genocide.”
“What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in history. Indeed, it occurred when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that Lula was “trivializing” the Holocaust and “trying to harm the Jewish people and Israel’s right to defend itself,” saying that “comparing Israel to the Nazi Holocaust and Hitler is crossing a red line.”
“Israel fights for its defense and securing its future until complete victory and it does so while upholding international law,” he added. Israel has said its goal is to completely eliminate Hamas after they attacked Israel on October 7.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also posted on X saying, “No one will harm Israel’s right to defend itself. I have ordered the people of my office to summon the Brazilian ambassador for a reprimand call tomorrow.”
Lula also made comments about the death of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny.
Speaking at the summit, he called for a proper investigation into the cause of his death.
While many Western nations immediately condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lula said, according to Reuters, “I understand the interests of the person making the accusation immediately, but it is not my style. I hope that a coroner will provide an explanation for why the individual died, that’s all.”