Bogota: The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has welcomed a landmark international agreement reached in Colombia to impose sanctions on Israel over its ongoing genocide in besieged Gaza. The deal was signed during an emergency summit in Bogota, where representatives from more than 20 countries gathered to coordinate a legal and diplomatic response to what they described as Israel’s escalating violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
According to TRTworld.com, the agreement obliges participating countries to implement a range of coordinated measures, most notably a total ban on exporting or transferring weapons, ammunition, military fuel, and dual-use materials to Israel. It also includes restrictions on vessels suspected of transporting military equipment to Israel, such as denying them entry to national ports or access to logistical services.
In its statement, Hamas said that the agreement lays out concrete steps, including halting arms transfers to Israel, reviewing bilateral treaties, and facilitating international investigations into war crimes. Hamas praised the agreement as a bold stance against the siege and atrocities endured by Palestinians in Gaza. The summit also brought together delegations from Türkiye, Brazil, Portugal, Algeria, Lebanon, Oman, Uruguay, Bangladesh, Chile, Djibouti, Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, along with Palestinian representatives.
Israel’s actions in Gaza have resulted in the deaths of nearly 59,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to reports. Some 11,000 Palestinians are feared buried under rubble of annihilated homes, as reported by Palestine’s official WAFA news agency. Experts contend that the actual death toll significantly exceeds what the Gaza authorities have reported, estimating it could be around 200,000. Over the course of the conflict, Israel has reduced most of the blockaded enclave to ruins and displaced nearly all of its population. It has also obstructed the entry of humanitarian aid, permitting only a controversial US-backed aid group, which has been condemned as a “death trap.”
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the enclave.