At a recent news conference, Bolivia's Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani announced that Bolivia "has decided to break diplomatic relations with Israel in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip", making Bolivia the first country to declare the severing of diplomatic ties with Israel since the outbreak of this round of Israel-Palestine conflict.

On the same day, Chile and Colombia announced the recalling of their ambassadors to Israel, citing "unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law committed by Israel in Gaza" and Israel's "massacre of the Palestinian people". Recalling an ambassador means lowering diplomatic relations to the level of charge d'affaires, which is seen as a prelude to breaking off relations between two countries. Israel's Foreign Ministry responded the next day by labeling Bolivia as "capitulating to terrorism and Iran".

Sources say the Bolivian government took the decision at the urging of former president Evo Morales, who, like current President Luiz Arce, belongs to the Movement Towards Socialism in Bolivia. As early as 2008, when Morales was in office, the Bolivian government had announced severing of diplomatic relations with Israel over the Israeli military operation in Gaza.

Bolivia, Chile and Colombia all saw left-wing governments come to power in the "pink tide" of Latin America from 2018 to 2022, and their recent breaking or downgrading of diplomatic relations with Israel is giving rise to questions if there will be more "pink zones" in Latin America.

After the outbreak of the Israel-Palestine conflict, even Saudi Arabia suspended the process of establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League have repeatedly condemned Israel's actions. On Wednesday, Jordan announced it was recalling its ambassador to Israel. At a recent special ministerial-level meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Iran called on Muslim countries to sever ties with Israel. The worsening humanitarian disaster in Gaza might provoke another round of reactions from the Muslim world.

So far, the Middle East and North African countries have focused on calling on Israel to immediately call for a cease-fire to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip. However, it seems that the Israeli artillery fire will not stop. If this situation continues, diplomatic relations between the Middle East and North African countries and Israel are bound to return to the chilly state they were in before 2020.

BEIJING NEWS