Bolivia severs relations with Israel due to the Gaza War

Due to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and suspected war crimes against the Palestinian people, the Bolivian government declared on Tuesday that it was cutting diplomatic ties with the country.

“In response to the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive occurring in the Gaza Strip, Bolivia has decided to sever diplomatic ties with the state of Israel,” Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani stated at a press conference, as cited by the Associated Press.

Calling on the Israeli government to “cease attacks in the Gaza Strip that have already resulted in thousands of civilian casualties and the forced displacement of Palestinians,” Acting Foreign Minister Maria Nela Prada accused Israel of “committing crimes against humanity” against the Palestinians in Gaza.

In breach of international humanitarian law, she also called for an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which “prevents the entry of food, water, and other essential elements for life.”

The decision was made in response to President Luis Arce’s Monday meeting with Mahmoud Elalwani, the Palestinian envoy in La Paz.

Under President Evo Morales’ administration, Bolivia had already cut diplomatic ties with Israel over Gaza in 2009. After Morales was overthrown by the pro-US government in 2019, diplomatic ties were restored, and they persisted until the party led by the former president Arce came back to power in late 2020.

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Tuesday night, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Morales berated the administration for taking three years to sever ties with Israel once more and for only acting in response to public pressure.

The former president, who declared last month that he will run against Arce for the position in 2025, continued, “This is not enough, Bolivia must declare Israel a terrorist state and file a complaint with the International Criminal Court.”

Following the Palestinian terrorist group’s October 7 incursion, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 Israelis, many of them civilians, Israel declared war on Hamas. More than 8,500 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli airstrikes and artillery in the weeks that have passed, according to Gaza officials.