All countries should immediately suspend relations with Israel, says Francesca Albanese at Colombia’s 30-nation Gaza summit

All countries should immediately suspend relations with Israel, says Francesca Albanese at Colombia’s 30-nation Gaza summit

[Bogotá, Colombia | July 22, 2025] — Calling Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the West Bank a "genocide," Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, urged all nations on Tuesday to immediately suspend diplomatic, economic, and military ties with Israel.

Speaking at a high-level international summit hosted in Colombia, Albanese declared:

“Every country must urgently review and suspend all forms of relations with Israel, and ensure their private sectors follow suit. Israel’s economy is built upon an occupation structure that has now reached the level of genocide.”

More than 30 countries are attending the two-day conference, including Spain, Ireland, China, Turkey, Qatar, and several developing nations. The summit was co-organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa, who say the goal is to intensify legal and diplomatic pressure on Israel at the international level.

Many participating nations have officially recognized Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide and voiced support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Albanese further stated:

“I urge you to see this moment as if we are discussing apartheid South Africa in the 1990s. Would you impose limited sanctions on Bantustans only — or would you confront the entire state system of injustice?”

By this, she directly compared Israel’s current policies with those of apartheid-era South Africa.

Israel, as usual, rejected the genocide allegations, calling them a "blood libel" and labeling such claims as anti-Semitic.

Francesca Albanese has herself been a controversial figure in global politics — earlier this month, the United States imposed sanctions on her.

U.S. and European response

In light of the summit, the European Union is also considering potential actions against Israel, including:

• Banning imports from illegal settlements,

• Imposing arms embargoes, and

• Placing travel bans and asset freezes on senior Israeli officials.

Summit impact and limitations

Sandra Borda, professor of international relations at Los Andes University in Bogotá, remarked:

“Even the United States has failed to influence Israel’s behavior. So expecting these countries to stop Netanyahu is overly optimistic.”

However, she acknowledged the summit as historically important:

“It represents a unified voice from the Global South.”

South Africa’s delegate Crispin Phiri echoed this:

“International law cannot apply only to the Global South. It’s time for real action.”

Colombia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mauricio Jaramillo said participating nations are working on diplomatic and legal measures to escalate pressure on Israel:

“This isn’t just about Palestine — it’s about upholding international law and the right of peoples to self-determination.”