Colombia to halt coal exports to Israel after Palestinians killed in hostage-taking

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that the country would stop coal exports to Israel because of its actions in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They declared that they would not be readmitted until “the genocide stops.”

He also published a draft regulation on this measure, which states that coal exports will resume. if the country complies with a decision by the International Criminal Court to withdraw its troops from the Palestinian enclave.

According to the Associated Press, Israel imports more than half of its coal from Colombia, much of which is used to power its power plants. Petro made the announcement hours after Israeli troops rescued four hostages kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said more than 200 Palestinians died and more than 400 were injured in the operation. Israel blames Hamas for the hostage-taking in areas with large civilian populations. Reports detail that the hostages were housed in family homes that Hamas paid to house them.

Petro is one of Israel’s most vocal critics outside the Middle East. In May, he announced that the country would sever diplomatic relations with Israel. It was also one of the first countries to take diplomatic action, recalling its ambassador for consultations in early November, shortly after the war began.In Latin America, Chile made the same decision at that time, while Bolivia also completely severed its relations.

Petro was also criticized for his approach to the issue, as he never condemned Hamas’s actions. Neighbouring countries Egypt and Jordan also condemned the attacks on the Nuseirat refugee camp.

In contrast, several international politicians celebrated the operation that rescued Noa Argamani (26), Almog Meir Jan (22), Andrey Kozlov (27) and Shlomi Ziv (41) after nearly 250 days of captivity. Argamani was one of the most widely recognized hostages after images showed her being taken to Gaza while screaming “Don’t kill me!” One Israeli commando was killed during the operation.

President Joe Biden and other senior U.S. officials welcomed the release of the hostages and vowed to continue working for a ceasefire agreement that would provide for the return of all 120 people remaining in the Gaza Strip, 43 of whom are presumed dead.The survivors include about 15 women, two children under the age of five and two men in their eighties.

The Israel Defense Forces have so far rescued seven hostages, two in February and one shortly after the October 7 attack. They also mistakenly killed three hostages who escaped their captors and recovered the bodies of 16 hostages who died either in the attack or in the Gaza Strip.

There are still differences of opinion in Israel about how to proceed. Many are calling for a ceasefire, others want to continue the offensive and destroy Hamas.