Brazil’s Lula slams Israel for Gaza war, says United Nations has failed
CAIRO (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday said the United Nations has failed to resolve international conflicts and harshly criticized Israeli actions in Gaza.
“Israel’s behavior has no explanation: with the pretext of fighting Hamas, it is killing women and children,” he said after a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Speaking later to the Arab League, Lula said Brazil had condemned the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, but he added that the Israel’s response was “disproportional and indiscriminate” and unacceptable.
Lula said there would not be peace without the establishment of a Palestinian state and called for an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. “The killing must be stopped,” he said.
The Brazilian leader said Palestine should be recognized as a sovereign state and admitted to the United Nations as a full member, and he called for reform of the UN Security Council.
“The multilateral institutions that were created to help solve these problems do not work, which is why Brazil is committed to making the necessary changes in global governance bodies, and we hope to count on Egypt’s support,” he told reporters alongside Sisi.
Lula said the permanent Security Council should be expanded and its veto powers abolished. “It is the permanent members of the Security Council that foment wars,” he said.
Brazil has supported South Africa’s case brought before the International Court of Justice against the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, he added.
The leftist president, who is on his third nonconsecutive term, also announced his government will make a new contribution to the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), which is facing a cash crunch after Israel alleged that 12 of its 13,000 staff members in Gaza were involved in the October 7 attack. He did not mention the presence of openings to Hamas tunnels, ammunition stockpiles and other items within and under UNRWA-run facilities that were reported by the IDF.
“The recent allegations against the agency’s staff need to be properly investigated, but they cannot paralyze it,” he said, adding that other countries should “maintain and increase their contributions.”