Brazil’s president has criticised Israeli policies towards the Palestinians, warning that Israel’s separation barrier, its blockade of Gaza and its continued settlement building was extinguishing “the candle of hope”.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made his comments while on a visit to the West Bank where, on Wednesday, he placed a wreath on the tomb Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader.
What Lula terms his “mission of peace” began in Israel on Tuesday, and is the first visit by a sitting Brazilian president to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Brazil is Israel’s largest trading partner in Latin America, but it also has close ties to Iran and Lula has defended Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which Tehran says are peaceful but which Israel sees as a potential threat.
Lula laid a yellow and green wreath on Arafat’s mausoleum in Ramallah and told a crowd of Palestinian officials and several dozen people waving Brazil’s flag that he had participated in pro-Palestinian protests in the past.
Later Lula said that Brazil was willing to talk to Hamas, which is listed by the European Union and the US as a “terrorist” organisation.
“Brazil is prepared to talk to everybody,” he said. “All the parties involved must be listened to.”
Related articles: