Diplomatic source: Brazil does not intend to appoint a replacement for its ambassador to Israel News

Agence France-Presse quoted an unnamed diplomatic source as saying that Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Israel and does not intend to appoint a replacement for him at the present time.

Ambassador Frederico Mayer was originally summoned to consult with his government after the two countries exchanged sharp statements last February regarding Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, and the source explained on Wednesday that the conditions were not available “for his return to Israel.”

Last February, Brazilian and Israeli media reports reported that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva summoned his country’s ambassador to Israel for consultations, in response to Tel Aviv’s rebuke of him against the backdrop of statements made by da Silva regarding the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz had earlier summoned the Brazilian ambassador to rebuke him following statements by the Brazilian president in which he likened the war on the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip to the genocide committed by the Nazis during World War II.

Katz announced that the Brazilian president would remain “persona non grata” in Israel until he retracted his statements.