US does not dictate our foreign policy: Colombian president

BOGOTA, Colombia

Colombia’s president shot back at scolding from a US diplomat, saying his country will forge its own policy and that criticizing Israel is not the same as antisemitism.

"The US does not dictate our foreign policy. Despite our differences, we find common ground and engage in dialogue,” Gustavo Petro wrote on X.

“There is genocide in Palestine, and it is being committed by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu. Condemning this is not antisemitism, it is simply humanity," he added.

The posting came after historian Deborah Lipstadt, the US’ special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, criticized both Petro and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In a speech, Lipstadt took exception to Colombia and Brazil’s remarks against Israel, saying: "They are crossing the line, and if they want to work closely with the US, these statements are not in their interest."

Petro and Lula have strongly criticized over five months of Israeli attacks on Gaza, accusing Israel of committing "genocide" against the Palestinian people on several occasions.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 30,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza and nearly 73,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.​​​​​​​

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.