Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro speaks during the inauguration of the International Book Fair (FilBo) in Bogota, Colombia, April 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has proposed an “International Peace Conference for Palestine” at the United Nations General Assembly, urging world leaders “to stop killing children in Gaza.”

The proposal promoted outrage from Israel, which accused Colombia of backing Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that rules Gaza.

“President Petro cannot be a mediator if he supports Hamas,” Mattanya Cohen, head of Latin America and the Caribbean bureau at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement.

Cohen argued at a press conference that Petro has not been neutral in the Middle Eastern conflict, but rather “has declared his support for Palestine on multiple occasions” while also criticizing Israel’s actions.

“A peace conference is a nice name, but they did not invite Israel,” he added.

During the press conference, Cohen said it was Petro’s fault that relations with Israel were strained.

“When a president orders an ambassador to leave the country, dialogue is impossible,” he said.

In May, Colombia broke diplomatic ties with Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, criticizing the Israeli government and its leaders as “genocidal.”

Petro’s latest proposal came before the UN General Assembly on Wednesday passed a nonbinding Palestinian resolution demanding Israel end its “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” within the next 12 months.

The resolution, which passed by a 124-14 margin with 43 abstentions, was meant to give force to a July advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled that Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including its establishment of settlements in the territories, is illegal and violates international law.

Despite calling on Israel to withdraw all military forces and Israeli Jewish communities from Gaza and the West Bank, the UN resolution did not mention Israeli security concerns, historic ties to the lands, or Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.

Next week, world leaders will travel to New York for their annual UN gathering, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are both scheduled to speak before the General Assembly.

What does the breakdown in relations with Israel mean for Colombia?

Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1957, Colombia and Israel have signed dozens of agreements on various issues, including education, trade, and military contracts.

Not only could this breakdown affect Colombia’s military operations, which rely on Israeli-built warplanes and machine guns to combat drug cartels and rebel groups, but it could also impact their free trade agreement.

After the agreement went into effect in 2020, Colombia’s trade revenue from Israel rose over 65 percent. Currently, Israel accounts for 1 percent of Colombia’s total exports, including coal, coffee, and flowers.

This means the Latin American country could lose $350 million in coal exports and investment every year.

However, the Colombian government said it has established a “transition” committee to seek alternative suppliers and reduce dependence on Israel.

Ailin Vilches Arguello is a student at the University of Rochester earning a bachelor of arts in both international relations and language, media, and communication.