RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Saturday criticized Peru for allowing its citizens to fight alongside the Israeli army in the conflict with Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian authority’s criticism came in response to Peru’s condolences for the death of a Peruvian-Israeli citizen serving as a reservist in the Israeli Defense Forces.
Peru’s Foreign Ministry, in a tweet, stated, “The Peruvian government regrets the death of its citizen Yuval Lopez.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry interpreted Peru’s acknowledgment as an endorsement of its citizens participating in the conflict, referring to it as “permitting its citizens to participate in the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians in Gaza.”
In its official statement, Palestine expressed disappointment and urged Peru to reconsider such allowances, stating, “We expected Peru to revoke the citizenship of its citizens who hold Israeli citizenship and are involved in the conflict, instead of offering condolences after their deaths and praising them.”
Palestine renewed its request for all countries to verifying the citizenship status of individuals in Israel and called for a reconsideration of citizens’ direct participation in the conflict against Gaza, linking it to the principles of international law and humanitarian commitments.
As of now, there has been no immediate response from Peru regarding the statement from the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza sparks global concerns as the UN reports widespread infrastructure damage and a severe humanitarian crisis. UN findings reveal that over 85% of Gaza’s population is internally displaced, facing critical shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. Moreover, 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been either damaged or destroyed.
Palestinian health authorities report at least 26,257 deaths, primarily among women and children, with 64,797 injuries in Israeli attacks since October 7.
