Mexico will not break ties with Israel, says president

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday his government will not break ties with Israel for its ongoing strikes on Gaza.

The president reiterated that Mexico would not take a definitive stand on the matter and said his government would only demand peace.

"We, I want to say it very clearly, are not going to break off relations with Israel, nor are we going to have a position beyond seeking peace to prevent the war from continuing and, moreover, from spreading because it is very risky, very painful what is happening, and it even produces impotence," he said at a news conference.

He also said the US and the UN should promote a "truce."

"The United States, which has a very good relationship with Israel, should intervene to guarantee a truce, to protect civilians, to avoid massacres, but we should all help to achieve peace without confrontation," he said.

Lopez Obrador's endorsement of Israel follows a decision by some Latin American leaders to break formal relations with the Israeli government and recall ambassadors amid accusations that Israel is executing genocide against Palestinians.

Bolivia announced the end of diplomatic relations with Israel last week. Chile and Colombia soon followed and recalled their ambassadors.

At least 10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children and 2,719 women, have been killed. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, nears1,600, according to official figures.

Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have provided evidence that the Israeli military has used white phosphorus against the Palestinian population, a war crime according to international law.

Israel has bombed refugee camps, residential buildings and hospitals, including a convoy of ambulances transporting injured Palestinians to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.