BOGOTA

Colombian President Gustavo Petro blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, saying he will "go down in history as a genocide perpetrator."

"Mr. Netanyahu, you will go down in history as a genocide perpetrator. Dropping bombs on thousands of innocent children, women and the elderly does not make you a hero," he said in a post on X in response to Netanyahu's antisemitism accusation.

"You remain alongside those who murdered millions of Jews in Europe. Genocide, whether it is related to religion or not, is genocide. At least stop the onslaught that is continuing," he said.

'If Gaza dies, humanity dies'

In an earlier post, Petro said: "Semites should not be responsible for the genocide because they experienced this genocide. Just as the genocide committed against the Jewish people in Nazi Europe is unacceptable, the current genocide against the Palestinian people is also unacceptable. I am secular, republican and a supporter of ordinary people."

Adding that he is not a supporter of Hamas, Petro said his "democratic, ordinary, secular and religious principles lead me to reject Netanyahu's genocide and inhumane barbarism."

"If Gaza dies, humanity dies," he added.

Colombia cut diplomatic relations with Israel on May 3, citing the ongoing attacks against the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has killed nearly 35,000 people in response to a Hamas incursion on Oct. 7, 2023 that claimed 1,200 lives.

The International Court of Justice in January found it is "plausible" that Israel committed acts that violate the 1948 Genocide Convention. In a provisional order, it said Israel must ensure that its forces do not commit any of the acts prohibited by the convention. The case, brought by South Africa, is ongoing in The Hague.