Lula calls Israel a 'mass murderer' at BRICS summit

 

Lula calls Israel a 'mass murderer' at BRICS summit

"Brazilian President Lula da Silva opened the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro by calling the Israeli offensive in Gaza a" "genocide."

"We cannot stand idly by and accept the genocide that Israel is committing against the Palestinian people,"he said in his opening remarks, strongly condemning Israel's offensive in Gaza." '

"It is absolutely unacceptable to use hunger or starvation as a weapon of war," he said. '

Lula asserted that the only lasting solution to the crisis was for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and establish an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.

The two-day summit is being attended by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as well as representatives of the new member countries that have recently joined the alliance.

The conference is expected to discuss various proposals to increase economic and diplomatic cooperation among member countries in addition to expressing concern against global Western hegemony.

Analysts say that with such a clear speech by the Brazilian president, the position of the BRICS alliance has been more strongly expressed in the arena of international diplomacy.