Artical Link: https://www.reuters.com/world/chiles-boric-after-condemning-israel-over-gaza-raise-concerns-with-biden-2023-11-02/
Summary: Chilean President Gabriel Boric, this past week condemned Israel for the current attacks on Gaza it has ensued, this is shortly after the nearby country Bolivia declared its cutting of ties with Israel due to these attacks. Boric agreed that the attack on Israel by the Hamas militant group was wrong, but argued that the response that Israel has had to this attack has crossed the line, even if they are trying to defend themselves. Many countries including Chile have stated that the response is violating international humanitarian law, due to the amount of innocent civilians and children that have been killed. In response, Biden stated America would be increasing life-saving humanitarian assistance to Gaza and will back a series of pauses in attacks to allow people to exit Gaza, but has not called a ceasefire.
Analysis: The actions that multiple Latin American countries have taken will most likely have long-lasting effects on their relations with both Palestine and Israel. The cutting of ties with Israel will most likely weaken the state, alongside the interpretations many countries have of this retaliation from Israel, many see this as breaking international law, including Chile, Bolivia and Columbia. If Prominent countries agree with the idea that Israel is breaking international law it could lead to huge repercussions globally, these different viewpoints on this issue could also lead to disagreements between larger countries on which approach should be taken to end this conflict overall.
Connection to Class: When talking about international law before, we have talked about the complicated issues it begs. This issue asks the question is Israel following international law and just protecting itself, some could argue that Israel has the right due to the fact it was attacked first by Palestine, and others could argue, like Chile and Bolivia have, that Israel is stepping out of line with this response and have started a genocide. Colombia has released a statement calling it a genocide alongside other Latin American states. The different interpretation of international law is what has caused centuries worth of confusion on issues like these.