President of Brazil Condemns Israel for Committing Genocide in Gaza (+Brazil to Join OPEC+)

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called the Israeli war of aggression on Gaza “genocide,” and blamed the president of the United States for the genocide against Palestinians.

“What we are seeing in Gaza is not a conventional war, but a genocide,” Lula said in an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera on Friday, December 1. The Brazilian president is on an official tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE.

Lula da Silva denounced the murder of more than 15,000 innocent civilians, including 7,000 children; the destruction of at least 40,000 homes and even hospitals during the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, under the pretext of self-defense.

The Brazilian president has also blamed US President Joe Biden for apathy towards this genocide in Gaza, despite Washington’s influence on the Israeli regime.

“US authorities did not have the sensitivity to cry out, to stop that war,” Lula stressed. “They have a lot of influence over Israel. They have a lot of economic, financial, military and political influence, so they could have stopped the war.”

The Brazilian president also thanked Qatar for its help, as a mediator, in bringing about a truce deal that paused the war for a week and led to a prisoner exchange, as well as for its solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Lula da Silva had previously commented that the Al-Aqsa Storm operation carried out by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas on October 7 did not give Israel the right to “kill millions of innocent people.”

Israel launched a genocidal war against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip on October 7 following a surprise operation by Hamas against the occupation regime. Earlier on Friday, Israel resumed its attacks and bombardments against the besieged enclave after the end of the seven-day truce agreed with Hamas, and killed at least 109 Palestinians.

Palestinian Resistance groups claim that the US gave the Israeli occupation the green light to resume the war on Gaza, as it was relaunched after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to occupied Palestine.

“The US administration and President Biden bear full responsibility for the continuation of Israel’s war crimes in the Gaza Strip, following their absolute support and the green light they granted once again after the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the entity yesterday,” Hamas said in a statement on Friday, referring to Blinken’s comments on Thursday that signaled Washington’s support for the resumption of the Israeli regime’s war on Gaza.

Brazil to join OPEC+
Brazil will join the OPEC+ alliance of oil-producing countries in January 2024. The bloc is made up of the 13 founding partners of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and 10 other oil-producing countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mexico.

The announcement was made during a virtual OPEC+ ministerial conference attended by Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira, and follows a visit to Riyadh by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Brazil, currently Latin America’s largest oil producing country, produces some 3.2 million barrels of crude oil per day and is one of China’s main suppliers, while OPEC+, without Brazil, is responsible for about 40% of the world’s crude oil supply.