Foreign minister moderates Brazil’s posture in Middle East clash and schedules meeting with Arabs

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In another instance of the Foreign Ministry’s pragmatism under Carlos França, the Brazilian chancellor asked the Israeli Army to exercise “maximum restraint” in the current conflict in the Gaza Strip and agreed to welcome a delegation of Arab ambassadors in Brasilia on Friday, May 21.

The Foreign Ministry’s position was delivered in writing to the UN Security Council (United Nations) on Sunday, May 16, therefore before the announcement of the ceasefire established between Israel and Hamas.

On that day, the body held an open debate – which includes the participation of non-members of the council – on the escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The document contains arguments that please Israel, including Brazil’s condemnation of the “indiscriminate launching of rockets against Israeli population centers by Hamas and other militant groups, which is unacceptable and must stop immediately.”

Another section, however, on the “reports of damage to innocent lives and civilian infrastructure caused by Israeli air strikes,” suggest a nod to the Palestinians. “We call on Israel’s security forces to exercise maximum restraint and respect international humanitarian law while exercising their inalienable right of self-defense under the United Nations Charter,” the text reads.

The Minister’s actions do not imply an abandonment of the pro-Israel line of the Bolsonaro government, but suggest a posture of moderation in relation to the policy of unrestricted support to Tel Aviv adopted by ex-Minister Ernesto Araújo.

Thus, the Foreign Ministry also distances itself from the Brazilian president’s recent comments, who in messages on Twitter about the violence in the Middle East did not make direct reference to the Palestinians.

The call for “restraint” in the use of force, as written in the document delivered by the Foreign Ministry, is criticized by the Israeli government. On Thursday, May 20, the UN General Assembly held a session on the crisis in the region, and the Israeli representative, Gilad Erdan, complained about the use of the expression “maximum restraint” in the English text.

“You [UN members] once again call on Israel to exercise restraint in the face of hundreds of indiscriminate attacks every day. I want to ask you a question: what would you do if it was you, your civilians under fire? If it was your family running to bomb shelters, how would the international community respond? Would they be asking both sides to show restraint if rockets were bringing down houses in Copenhagen and in Paris? I don’t think so.”

In another section of the Brazilian document, the Bolsonaro government claims that the potential eviction of Palestinian families from East Jerusalem by court order, including in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, one of the factors that triggered the current escalation of violence, “could further aggravate the situation.” “We welcome the suspension of the trial [of the eviction proceedings] by Israel’s Supreme Court.”

“At the heart of the current escalation of violence, there are unresolved issues that have led to this situation: Israel’s legitimate demand for security, the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for justice. We strongly support political dialogue as the means to achieve just and lasting peace in the Middle East, with Israel and Palestine living side by side with secure and internationally recognized borders.”

The recognition of at least part of the Palestinians’ claims comes from Bolsonaro’s position on the issue. On May 12, the president posted on Twitter that it is “absolutely unjustifiable to launch indiscriminate rockets against Israeli territory” and that the “offensive provoked by militants controlling the Gaza Strip and the Israeli reaction have already left dead and wounded on both sides.” “I express my condolences to the families of the victims and call for an immediate end to all attacks against Israel, expressing my support for efforts to reduce tension in Gaza.”

If Bolsonaro’s messages were celebrated by the Israeli government -on Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called on Brazil for alignment in Thursday’s speech at the UN General Assembly-, Brazilian diplomats said they were surprised by the president’s comments, which, in practice, prevented the Foreign Ministry from releasing a public note on the subject.

In addition to a document considered more balanced by diplomats, the Brazilian chancellor also accepted to receive ambassadors from the Arab League for a lunch on Friday at the Ministry. Throughout the whole initial times of the Bolsonaro administration, the Arab League ambassadors had no dialogue with Ernesto Araújo.

Now, they see the agenda with France -requested last week- as a positive sign of openness with the chancellery. “We are in contact with the Foreign Ministry about the effects of the attacks on Gaza, which resulted in [scheduling a] meeting soon with the Minister [Carlos França],” the Arab League ambassador to Brazil, Qaís Shqair, said Thursday in a meeting with journalists.

“We will also meet with the presidents of the Chamber [Arthur Lira] and the Senate [Rodrigo Pacheco] to clarify what Brazil’s position is on what is happening and convey the Arab countries’ perspective. The position of the Arab countries is consensual among all the member states [of the Arab League], condemning the Israeli attacks on Gaza and condemning the violence against civilians.”

Source: Folha