Brazilian President Lula caused a diplomatic storm by accusing Israel on Sunday of committing a “genocide” of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Comments which angered Tel Aviv, while Lula was declared “persona non grata” in Israel.
Since then, the diplomatic crisis has worsened and risks spilling over into the meeting of G20 foreign ministers which opened this Wednesday in Brasilia. “Lula only told the truth. Either the truth is defended, or barbarism destroy us,” declared Bolivian counterpart Luis Arce.