Tuesday, February 27, 2024

'If This Isn't Genocide, I Don't Know What Is,' Says Lula of Israeli Attack on Gaza

"What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinian people is not war," said the President of Brazil. "It's not soldiers who are dying, but women and children who are dying inside the hospitals."


Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a speech during the launching ceremony of a Petrobras cultural investment project at the Modern Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 23, 2024.

(Photo by Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images)


JON QUEALLY
Feb 25, 2024
COMMON DREAMS

Just days after Brazil's President Luiz InĂ¡cio Lula da Silva was announced to be 'person non grata' by the Israeli government for critical comments he made about its conduct in Gaza, the leftist leader known as Lula remained outspoken over the weekend as he condemned the military onslaught that has claimed nearly 30,000 lives, mostly innocent civilians, in just over four months.

"What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinian people is not war, it is genocide,” Lula thundered in remarks Friday during an event in Rio de Janiero. "They are killing women and children. There are thousands of children dead and thousands missing. It's not soldiers who are dying, but women and children who are dying inside the hospitals."

He continued: "If this isn't genocide, I don't know what is."




In his remarks, Lula condemned the failure of the UN Security Council to intervene in a meaningful way to stop the carnage in Gaza. On Feb. 19, the United States once again used its veto power to reject a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The UNSC "represents nothing," he said. "It does not take any decisions, it does nothing for peace," he added, while decrying the amount of "hypocrisy in the world today" when it comes to political leadership.

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