MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil and Paraguay take opposite sides regarding ICJ case against Israel

Lula recalled Brazil's immediate condemnation of Hamas' terrorist attacks but was critical of Israel's “disproportionate use of force”

Although partners in the South American Common Market (Mercosur), Brazil and Paraguay took opposite sides in the case brought by South Africa before the The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for allegedly committing genocide against Palestinians living in Gaza. While the leftwing-leaning administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva joined the plaintiff, Asunción sided with the defendant.

According to Agencia Brasil, South America's largest country supported the case filed on Dec. 29, 2023, by fellow BRICS member South Africa. The measure was announced Wednesday by the Itamaraty Palace in a press release, hours after Lula met with Palestinian Ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

After the terrorist group Hamas launched an attack on Israeli territory slaughtering civilians and taking others hostage, Tel Aviv's response has left a trail of more than 22,000 dead in Gaza, most of them women and children.

“President Lula recalled Brazil's immediate condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023. He reiterated, however, that such acts do not justify Israel's indiscriminate, recurrent, and disproportionate use of force against civilians. More than 23,000 people have died, 70% of whom are women and children, and 7,000 people are missing. More than 80% of the population has been forcibly relocated and the health, water, energy, and food supply systems have collapsed, which characterizes collective punishment,” a statement from Brazil's Foreign Ministry read.

“In light of the flagrant violations of international humanitarian law, the president expressed his support for South Africa's initiative to bring an action before the International Court of Justice to order Israel to immediately cease all acts and measures that may constitute genocide or related crimes in terms of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” the document went on.

Also according to the Itamaraty Palace, during the meeting with the Palestinian ambassador, Lula stressed the efforts he had made with other heads of state and government for a ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas, and the creation of humanitarian corridors for the protection of civilians. He highlighted Brazil's role in the Security Council exercise for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

“The Brazilian government reiterates its defense of the two-state solution, with an economically viable Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, in peace and security, within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders, which include the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the note also points out.

Meanwhile, Paraguay rejected the move through a posting on social media by the Santiago Peña administration's Foreign Ministry on the grounds that Israel's actions were carried out “in the context of self-defense against terrorist attacks”.

“The Government of Paraguay rejects the complaints filed against Israel in the International Court of Justice in the context of legitimate self-defense against terrorist attacks. It regrets the attempts to instrumentalize this international instance for purposes unrelated to its purposes,” Asunción's Foreign Ministry wrote after members of the National Defense Council (Codena) met with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Roni Kaplan.

“We discussed current affairs in the context of the conflict they are facing and the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in security matters,” President Peña also posted. ”I participated in a meeting of the National Defense Council (Codena) where we received Roni Kaplan, spokesman of the Israel Defense Forces. We talked about the current situation in the context of the conflict they face and the strengthening of bilateral cooperation...,“ he went on.

”I was impressed to talk with you, the ministers, and the generals in the framework of the Codena meeting,“ wrote Kaplan, who also thanked Peña for Paraguay's ”unequivocal recognition of #Israel's right to self-defense.”

When Peña took office last year, Paraguay moved its Embassy in Israel back to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv where his predecessor Mario Abdo Benítez had returned it after former President Horacio Cartes first placed it in Jerusalem. As a result of Abdo's decision, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government decided to close its diplomatic mission in Asunción.

Paraguay also voted against a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, thus becoming the only delegation in South America to reject the motion.