Colombian president threatens to sue Israel prime minister over conflict in Gaza

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Friday that the government’s legal teams “are preparing lawsuits to file before all international courts” against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It is not the first time that Petro has threatened to sue Israel since the conflict began in Gaza.

Petro had already announced that "Colombia will help" the complaint that Algeria will file before the International Criminal Court "for war crimes committed by Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu," within the framework of the war with the Islamist group Hamas.

"Colombia’s Foreign Minister will meet tomorrow with the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court," Petro said in a message published on X on Thursday.

The president of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune has asked human rights defenders to bring Israel before the International Criminal Court for the "crimes he is committing against Palestinians in Gaza".

"I urge all free men in the world, Arab jurists and human rights organizations and agencies to file a complaint before the International Criminal Court and international human rights organizations against the Israeli entity, to put an end to decades of impunity for crimes committed against Palestinians," Tebboune said on Monday.

The Colombian president has condemned the Israel attacks on Gaza on his social media and in his speeches and has even threatened to suspend relations with that country.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,078 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.