Colombian president responds to U.S. criticism after denouncing Israeli attacks on Gaza

Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded late on Thursday to the strong criticism coming from the U.S. regarding his position towards Israel and its attacks in Gaza, reiterating that "there is a genocide" in Palestine.

The comments against the Colombian president arose during a hearing convened by the subcommittee for the Western Hemisphere of the House of Representatives on Thursday to analyze the growing anti-Semitism that, according to its members, is advancing in Latin America.

At the hearing, led by Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, Deborah Lipstadt, testified.

"They have crossed the line. I would hope that they would get the message that if they want to work with the United States closely, this is not something that redounds to their benefit," Lipstadt said about countries like Colombia, Brazil and Chile, which have condemned Israel's attacks in Gaza. "We've seen the criticism morph into pure and unadulterated antisemitism."

After the hearing, she spoke to reporters about the Colombian president's comments.

"His comments, and not just about Israel, really crossed a line. They are anti-Semitism and they don't help, they don't help the Jewish community in Colombia, they don't help stability and they don't help the search for peace".

Lipstadt said that the decision of some leaders in the region such as Petro to call their ambassadors for consultation as a protest strategy is not conducive to finding solutions to the crisis.

Petro responded on X by warning that Colombia's foreign policy "is not handled by the United States".

"The US does not manage our foreign policy. From our differences we find common paths," said Petro. "We do not beg, we dialogue. In Palestine there is a genocide and Netanyahu does it; denouncing it is not anti-Semitism, it is simply humanity."

In October 2023, Ambassador Lipstadt urged President Petro to retract his positions and condemn the Hamas attack against Israel.

Israel launched a destructive military campaign in the Gaza Strip in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas, which killed 1,200 people.

Over 30,000 Palestinians have since been killed, the majority of the 2.3 million population has been displaced and many are starving amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.