Brazil's new president dismisses Bolsonaro-era ambassador to Israel
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has dismissed Brazil's ambassador to Israel in a move that signals a shift in the South American country's policy toward the occupying regime.
The dismissal of General Gerson Menandro Garcia de Freitas was signed by Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira on Tuesday in one of the first important steps taken by the country's newly-elected president since assuming office.
Freitas, a former general in the Brazilian army, was in September 2020 appointed as ambassador to the occupied territories by former president Jair Bolsonaro in a move criticized by pro-Palestine advocates in the country.
The one-time head of the military command at the presidential palace also headed the Institutional and Governmental Relations at the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) before his appointment as ambassador.
He is believed to have played a key role in deepening relations between his country and the regime in Tel Aviv during the Bolsonaro era, which also prompted the former president to announce his intention of moving the Brazilian embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds.
Bolsonaro adopted a different approach to relations with Tel Aviv in a departure from the policies of his leftist predecessors, which many linked to his close ties with the United States and the pro-Israel lobby in Washington.
In 2019, he announced plans to move the country's embassy to al-Quds and recognized the Israeli regime's claim to the city. He later reversed his decision to relocate the embassy, opening a trade mission in al-Quds that angered the Palestinians.
According to a report in Globo newspaper, the sacked ambassador "had a role in the decision that Brazil's representatives at the UN did not vote in favor of the Palestinian proposal to obtain the opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories".
The former general's appointment as the ambassador was part of the Bolsonaro government's policy change to bring Brazil closer to the Israeli regime.
Lula, who was sworn in on January 1, reaffirmed his country's support for the Palestinian cause, vowing to reverse his predecessor's measures.
Speaking during his inauguration ceremony, he reaffirmed his principled commitment to support the Palestinian cause and his country's commitment to the rights of the Palestinian people.
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