Palestine welcomes Nicaragua's decision to cut diplomatic ties with Israel

By Ayser Alais

ISTANBUL (AA) - Palestine on Saturday welcomed Nicaragua's decision to sever diplomatic relations with Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The decision reflects “Nicaragua's responsibility as a member of the international community to take tangible steps to stop the ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people and other nations in the region,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry emphasized that the decision is a “response to Israel's continuous killing, destruction, and brutality against the Palestinian population in a wide-ranging campaign of genocide that has persisted for over a year.”

It also expressed hope that Nicaragua's move would “serve as a model for similar actions by friendly governments in response to Israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.”

On Friday, the Nicaraguan government announced that "following the unanimous decision by parliament, all diplomatic relations with Israel have been cut."

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 42,200 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 98,300 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi