Spanish
Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated this Friday that he will open a call for Colombian volunteers who want to enlist to "fight for the liberation" of Gaza and assured that he himself is willing to fight.
The leftist leader is one of the strongest critics of the Israeli army's offensive in that territory and calls Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "genocidal" person.
You may be interested in: Former President Uribe sues President Petro for "harassment and slander"
During a visit to New York for the UN General Assembly, he proposed a union of arms of different "civilizations" to defend Gaza.
"It's time for action," "I will speak in Colombia to open the list of Colombian volunteers who want to go and fight for the liberation of Palestine," he said at a United Nations event.
"And if the President of the Republic of Colombia has to go to that combat, it doesn't scare me, I've been in others, so I'll go," he added, wearing a typical Palestinian scarf.
Petro belonged in his youth to the urban guerrilla M-19 before signing the peace in the 90s and dedicating himself to politics.
This Friday, the president joined thousands of people in a pro-Palestinian march in New York alongside ex-Pink Floyd rocker Roger Waters.
With a raised fist, Vice President Francia Márquez and the rest of the Colombian delegation left the United Nations auditorium during Netanyahu's speech. In 2024, Colombia broke off relations with Israel due to the offensive in Gaza in retaliation for the attacks by the Islamist group Hamas on October 7, 2023. In those events, 1,219 people died, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli official sources, and 251 were kidnapped, of whom 47 remain captive in Gaza. The Israeli army has launched an offensive that has so far left more than 65,400 Palestinians dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health accepted by the United Nations.
