8/6/2024–|Last updated: 6/8/202411:53 PM (Mecca time)
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his country will stop its coal exports to Israel as the war on the Gaza Strip continues.
“We will stop our coal exports to Israel until the genocide stops,” Petro wrote on the X platform.
A decree issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry stated that the cessation of coal exports will apply “until full respect for the temporary measures ordered by the International Court of Justice within the framework of the process of implementing the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.”
The Colombian government explained that the measure will be implemented 5 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.
The government said that between January and August 2023, Colombia exported goods worth $375 million to Israel, a large portion of this amount coming from coal, stressing that the material is “a strategic resource for manufacturing weapons, mobilizing forces, and preparing supplies for military operations.”
In May, the Colombian president announced the severing of diplomatic relations between his country and Israel, describing the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as committing genocide against the Palestinians. He also stopped the purchase of Israeli-made weapons, knowing that Israel constitutes one of the most prominent sources of armament for the Colombian security forces.
Israel has continued its devastating war on the Gaza Strip since last October 7, which left more than 120,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, despite the International Criminal Court’s intention to issue international arrest warrants against its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, for their responsibility for war crimes and crimes. against humanity.
Israel also ignores a resolution from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire, and orders from the International Court of Justice to take immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
