by Renwick Rose

At a juncture in the unrelenting Israeli assault against the Palestinian people when even western nations which support Israel are now giving lukewarm support to the overwhelming global demand for a ceasefire, seven of the countries represented at last week’s 8th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean nations (CELAC), differed from their colleagues on a solution to the problem.

The representatives of four South American nations – Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, and those from the Central American states of Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama, distanced themselves from their colleagues by not signing the Declaration on the matter at the Summit. The other eight Declarations got unanimous support, including one, “The Special Declaration on the need to put an end to the Economic, Commercial and Financial Blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba”.

The Declaration which the seven nations did not support calls for “an immediate ceasefire, ample humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, the observance of international law, the peaceful resolution of international conflicts and a two-state solution to the Palestinian situation.

It must have been a major disappointment that these Latin American representatives, in the face of what the whole world now terms as “genocide” would take such a position. Even US vice president Kamala Harris has recently criticized Israeli intransigence and called for an immediate ceasefire and greatly increased humanitarian aid to the embattled Palestinian people, some 30,000 of whom have been slaughtered in the last five months alone. The USA is the chief financial and military supporter of Israel.