The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, has responded to the letter sent to him by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, on January 11, in which he asked him to intercede in favor of the release of the hostages held by Hamas since the October 7.
In the text, dated January 29 but released this Wednesday the 31st, Petro, a sharp critic of the response of the Government and the Israeli Army in Gaza, assures that the Executive he leads is working to achieve the release of the Colombian citizen who was He is among those held by the armed group and insists on the need to start peace talks to achieve the release of all those kidnapped.
In the letter, Petro assures: "In order to guarantee its integrity, this Government is taking steps at the highest level, in order to allow Mr. [Elkana] Bohbot's safe return home and family reunification."
Netanyahu, in the text he sent him almost three weeks ago, had told him that Colombia and Israel have the “common cause” of fighting for the release of the 136 people kidnapped by Hamas, including a Colombian citizen.
Bohbot, an Israeli citizen, is married to Colombian Geraldyn González, and was detained in the incursion of the Islamist group that left more than 1,000 dead on Israeli soil and unleashed a military response that has caused the death of more than 25,000 people, including at least 12,000 children.
To facilitate his release, the Colombian government granted Bohbot citizenship on November 21.
However, this measure has not taken effect so far.
Petro mentions nationalization in the letter he sends to Netanyahu, but also reminds him that in September, at the United Nations General Assembly, he proposed the installation of two peace conferences, one on Ukraine and the other on Palestine.
“I said that it was necessary to end the war to have time to save ourselves,” the president recalls in the letter.
At that assembly, Petro said: “The same reasons that are expressed to defend [the president of Ukraine, Volodimir] Zelensky, are the same reasons that should be defended Palestine.”
Beyond the efforts of the Colombian Government to achieve the release of the hostages, Petro asks in his letter for a ceasefire, a measure that Netanyahu has rejected on several occasions: “I consider it a priority to move quickly towards an immediate cessation of hostilities and initiate talks for the release of all the hostages.”
Furthermore, he proposes creating a peace commission, made up of several countries, to work for liberations and to put an end to “the violence unleashed between Israel and Palestine.”
In this way, Petro offers the services of his Government for all efforts that lead to the end of the conflict, the main focus of war tension in the Middle East today.
“I have rejected and will energetically reject acts that involve the elimination of the other,” the president continues in his writing, in which he also makes a brief preliminary presentation of his political career, his transition from life in the guerrilla to politics without weapons and his commitment to “peace and social justice” in Colombia.
Later he adds: “Not shedding blood means speaking, seeking common paths, again and again, until the people are brought to their knees.”
And he ends by reiterating that the country “will spare no effort to make peace a reality on the planet.”
Since the escalation of violence in Gaza, Petro has been one of the Latin American presidents most critical of the vehemence of Israel's response in the Strip, which he has justified with the right to defend itself after the Hamas attack.
A few hours after the incursion of that group, in October, the president unleashed criticism from the Colombian Jewish community by comparing the situation in Gaza with that of the most famous extermination camp for Jews during the Holocaust: “I was already in the concentration camp from Auschwitz and now I see it copied in Gaza,” he wrote in X.
As a result of his statements, the president became involved in a diplomatic controversy in which the Israeli ambassador to Colombia, Gali Dagan, intervened, which led to a reprimand for alleged “anti-Semitism” and Israel's decision to stop sending security teams to the country.
At that time, Petro even evaluated the possibility of suspending relations between both countries.
The Government also supported South Africa's complaint before the UN International Court of Justice in which it accused Israel of inciting genocide in Gaza.
“South Africa's demand is a brave step in the right direction,” the Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Due to this immovable position of the Colombian Government, the conciliatory tone of Netanyahu's letter seemed surprising due to its apparent intention to build bridges.
That communication - which was also a presentation by the prime minister about his enemies in the region and against the countries and organizations that, according to him, facilitate or finance Hamas -, in one section, said: “Any pressure that can be exerted with that objective [The release of the hostages], especially against Iran, Qatar and Turkey, like the Red Cross, will be invaluable and will help save innocent lives.”
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