'Biden must act quickly to stop the genocide in Gaza': Colombian president

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Colombia's President Gustavo Petro on Thursday once again criticized Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and called for an end to the "genocide" after a group of President Joe Biden's administration staff called on the US leader to back a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.

“President Biden must act quickly to stop the genocide in Gaza. This approach is true: the Israeli people must change their current government and open the way to a definitive peace that is based on the existence of two sovereign states,” Petro published on his X account on Thursday.

The Colombian president wrote the message citing news that reported that Biden administration staffers on Wednesday called on the US president to support a permanent cease-fire. Political appointees, administration staffers and civil service career staff, wearing sunglasses and masks to conceal their identities, attended a vigil in front of the White House.

“The temporary ceasefire ended 13 days ago, and we have been horrified to see the full resumption of killings, displacement and bombardment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” Josh Paul, a former State Department official who resigned from his job in October over disagreement with the Biden administration’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war, said in a speech.

“We demand President Biden and members of the Cabinet to speak up: Call for a permanent cease-fire, a release of all hostages and an immediate de-escalation now.”

The US has repeatedly vetoed UN resolutions calling for a cease-fire, despite dramatic pleas from the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to stop the war. Human Rights Watch has said that the US risked “complicity in war crimes” by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it continues to commit atrocities against the civilian population in Gaza.

Petro has been critical of Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip, which has caused the deaths of more than 18,000 civilians.