Ahmad 
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced that Brazilian President Lula da Silva is “persona non grata” in Israel, after Silva said that what Israel is doing in Gaza is genocide, likening its regime to Hitler’s Nazi regime.
A statement from Katz’s office said the minister told Brazil’s ambassador: “We will not forget, and we will not forgive, this is a dangerous anti-Semitic attack, in my name and in the name of the citizens of Israel, let President Lula be informed that he is persona non grata in Israel so that he can back down.”
Lula told reporters at the 37th African Union summit in Addis Ababa: “What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people is unparalleled in other historical moments, in fact, it happened when Hitler decided to kill Jews.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on his X account: “This is an underestimation of the Holocaust and an attempt to attack Jews and Israel’s right to defend itself, making comparisons between Israel, the Nazis and Hitler is crossing a red line.”
הדברים של נשיא ברזיל מבישים וחמורים. מדובר בזילות השואה ובניסיון לפגוע בעם היהודי ובזכותה של ישראל להגן עצמה.
ההשוואה בין ישראל לשואת הנאצים ולהיטלר היא חציית קו אדום. ישראל נלחמת למען הגנתה והבטחת עתידה עד לניצחון המוחלט והיא עושה זאת תוך שמירה על הדין הבינלאומי.
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— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) February 18, 2024