In a first for any country, Bolivia severs ties with Israel over war in Gaza

Bolivia and Israel had restored relations in 2020, after 11 years without ties

Bolivia’s President Luis Arce attends the UN Climate Change Conference on November 1, 2021 in Glasgow. Photo by Getty Images

By Gabe Friedman October 31, 2023

(JTA) — Bolivia’s foreign ministry announced Tuesday that it is severing diplomatic ties with Israel over what it called Israel’s crimes against humanity in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Bolivia had previously cut ties with Israel in 2009 under President Evo Morales over another violent conflict in Gaza, but President Jeanine Anez restored relations in 2020.

Bolivia’s current president, Luis Arce, is a member of the country’s left-wing socialist party and was formerly finance minister under Morales.

Morales, who resigned after his 2019 election win was widely disputed, was sharply critical of Israel during his 13 years in power. In 2017, after Chile expelled nine Bolivians accused of smuggling and theft, he said, “Chile is the Israel of South America: It imposes political walls, invisible and mental,”

In 2021, the Organization of American States — a coalition of 35 countries in North and South America — designated Hamas, the group that killed over 1,400 Israelis on Oct. 7, a terrorist organization. Bolivia was one of a few countries in the OAS not to agree with the move.

Colombia’s president has also threatened to cut ties with Israel in recent weeks, leading Israel to stop arms sales to the South American country.

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

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