Ophir Falk, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN in Jerusalem this Monday morning (19) that the Israeli government expects a retraction from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) regarding the statements made this Sunday (18) regarding Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
“He must recant. The statement has no connection with reality. He should be ashamed of what he said,” she stated.
According to him, the Brazilian ambassador to Israel, Frederico Duque Estrada Meyer, is expected to explain this today in a conversation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “We want to clarify and understand Lula’s statement,” he said.
He avoided answering, however, whether the crisis could escalate into a breakdown of diplomatic relations. “We have a lot of support from Brazil and Brazilians. We want to maintain that,” he declared.
Ambassador Jonathan Peled, Deputy Director General for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also told CNN wait for a retraction from Lula.
“We hope Lula corrects himself,” he stated.
Asked what would happen if Lula's retraction does not occur, he said: “It is very easy to break something that took years to build. But I'm a diplomat. We have to rationalize and condemn the statement and then we will see how we can dialogue.”
A CNN tries to contact Itamaraty.
Source: CNN Brasil
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