Latin Amrica no longer with Israel

Since 2009 , Gaza conflicts have spurred eight Latin
American countries to cut or downgrade diplomatic
ties with Israel.
In 2009 , Venezuela and Bolivia cut diplomatic
ties with Israel, expressing disgust at the country's
actions during "Operation Cast Lead " - a three -week
conflict that included an Israeli ground invasion of the
Gaza Strip and caused heavy civilian casualties.
The following year , after Israel's raid on the Mavi
Marmara flotilla that killed 10 people, Nicaragua
announced it would suspend ties with Israel.
Since the beginning of Israel's current offensive on
the Gaza Strip against Hamas , five Latin American
countries - Ecuador , Brazil, Peru, Chile and El
Salvador - have withdrawn their ambassadors to
Israel in protest. Meanwhile , Bolivia has dubbed
Israel a " terrorist state " and rescinded its visa -free
policy for Israeli travellers, and Chile has also
suspended free- trade negotiations with Israel.
The recalling of diplomats comes just two months
after the Israeli government announced plans to
bolster its economic ties with a handful of Latin
American countries .
Israel has described the countries ' decisions to
withdraw their diplomats as "encouragement for
Hamas ", adding that " El Salvador , Chile and Peru
would have been much better advised to promote the
international move intended to assist Israel in its
efforts to defend innocent civilians and instate a
durable cease -fire with the demilitarisation of Gaza " .
As for Brazil, Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson
Yigal Palmor dismissed the country as a "diplomatic
dwarf" . Responding to Brazilian accusations that
Israel's use of force in Gaza has been
disproportionate , Palmor riffed on Brazil's lopsided
World Cup defeat: "This is not football . In football ,
when a game ends in a draw, you think it is
proportional, but when it finishes 7- 1 it 's
disproportionate . Sorry to say , but not so in real life
and under international law . "
The biggest Palestinian diaspora outside the Arab
world is in Latin America: An estimated 500 ,000
Chileans are of Palestinian descent , and as many as
200 ,000 Hondurans.
In 1973 , Cuba became the first Latin American
country to cut diplomatic ties with Israel, citing
support for the Palestinian cause.
Click through the slides below to see when and why
selected Latin American countries cut or
downgraded ties with Israel.