World increasingly recognising Gaza war as a genocide, says Brazilian president

The world is increasingly recognising that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide carried out by a powerful army against a defenceless people, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Wednesday.

Speaking at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s high-level meetings, Lula said what was happening in Gaza is not a war.

Lula has spoken out against Israel numerous times calling the war a genocide.

"During my speech before the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, I said that many people – including Jews – do not support the ongoing massacres in Gaza, whether inside Israel or around the world, and they are protesting to stop this genocide," Lula told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

"This genocide can continue because those who have the power to stop it have not taken the necessary actions. The United Nations Security Council could have taken stronger measures – this is the same council that had the power to establish the State of Israel, and it should have the same power to recognise a Palestinian state," he added.

"We cannot simply stand by and watch this ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people."

The Brazilian president was responding to a question on whether he thought the recent announcements made by several Western nations to recognise a Palestinian state came too late.

Britain, Canada, Australia, Portugal, France and other countries said they were officially recognising a Palestinian state, as part of a French and Saudi-led conference on Monday. It seeks to end the decades-long conflict and find a permanent solution.

The far-right Israeli government has said a Palestinian state will "never" be established, accusing its Western allies of "rewarding" Hamas, which Netanyahu has vowed to "eliminate".

Ceasefire efforts have repeatedly been sabotaged by Israel, and an Israeli airstrike on Qatar earlier this month targeted Hamas negotiators amid worldwide condemnation.

The United States, Israel’s main ally, also blocked a UN Security Council resolution last week which called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Brazil has voted at the United Nations in favour of establishing a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders since December 2010, Lula said.

"For Brazil, the only acceptable solution is the creation of two states living side by side in peace, without conflict."

He noted that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories following the 1967 Arab-Israel war constituted non-compliance with international resolutions.

Sceptics have said the recognition of Palestine has come too late as Israel occupies and builds illegal settlements across the West Bank – essentially splitting the territory into two – and has already annexed East Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located.

"Although the conference [to recognise Palestine] came late, it finally happened – and that is important. I believe that from now on, further developments will follow until we see the Palestinians establish their state and live in peace side by side with the Jews [Israelis]," Lula said.

He also denounced Hamas for its 7 October 2023 attack in southern Israel, saying the Palestinian group was partially responsible for the current situation.

Brazil condemned those attacks against Israelis and "allowing people to be killed the way they are being killed now," he added.

Hamas says its unprecedented air, ground and sea attack on Israel came in response to Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories, repeated attacks at Al-Aqsa Mosque and its siege on Gaza.

Israel has used the attack to justify its genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed over 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The true death toll is believed to be much higher, with thousands of uncounted victims beneath the rubble, and most of the enclave being laid to waste.

Nearly all of the territory’s 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced at least once, and Israel’s latest offensive in northern Gaza has forced hundreds of thousands to flee south.