The Brazilian leader made this comparison during a Feb. 18 summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Lula was asked about his thoughts on the suspension of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which led to his answer.
"What is happening in the Gaza Strip, to the Palestinian people, does not exist in any other historical period," he told reporters. "In fact, it happened when [Adolf] Hitler decided to kill the Jews."
"It's not a war between soldiers. It's a war between a highly prepared army against women and children. What is the size of these people's hearts, who are not seeing that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a war – it's a genocide."
Lula also rebuked several Western countries who decided to halt aid to the UNRWA. The move followed Israel accusing some employees of the UN agency of being involved and participating in the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October of last year. In response, the Brazilian president said his country will increase its contribution to the UNRWA and urged other nations to follow suit. (Related: UN official warns of "inevitable" famine with countries pausing UNRWA funding.)
"When I see the rich world announce that it’s halting its contributions to humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, I just imagine how big these people’s political awareness is and how big the spirit of solidarity in their hearts is," he said. "We need to stop being small when we need to be big."
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A day before making the comparison, Lula met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Feb. 17 on the sidelines of the African Union summit. He reiterated his call for a two-state solution to the conflict, with Palestine "definitively recognized as a full and sovereign state."
Lula is now PERSONA NON GRATA in Israel
Israeli officials did not take too kindly to the remarks of the Brazilian president, who assumed the position in 2022 after winning against his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Lula's comments as "disgraceful and grave." He said in a statement: "This is a trivialization of the Holocaust, and an attempt to attack the Jewish people and the right of Israel to self-defense. Drawing comparisons between Israel and the Nazis and Hitler is to cross a red line."
Netanyahu also rejected Lula's calls for a "unilateral recognition" of a Palestinian state. Doing so, the Israeli leader argued, would be a "massive and unprecedented reward to terrorism." Netanyahu also dubbed Tel Aviv's military offensive in Gaza as "the battle of civilization against barbarism" and reiterated his goal of "total victory" against Hamas.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz aired out his condemnation on the X platform. "No one will compromise Israel's right to defend itself," he wrote. Katz then shared in a separate post that he summoned the Brazilian ambassador to Israel for a reprimand.
"We will not forget nor forgive; it is a serious antisemitic attack. In my name and the name of the citizens of Israel, tell President Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he takes [his remarks] back," Katz said.
Celso Amorim, chief advisor to Lula, reacted to Katz's admonishment of the Brazilian ambassador. Amorim reportedly said declaring Lula persona non grata is "absurd."
Visit Genocide.news for more stories about Israel's genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Watch this clip of Lula comparing Israel's genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza to the Holocaust.
This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.
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