Tweeters: Colombia gives lessons in dealing with the killers of Gaza children | Economy

Colombia severed diplomatic relations with Israel last May over violations in the war on the Gaza Strip.

A few days ago, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his country had banned coal exports to Israel. He commented on the decision with a tweet on the X platform, saying, “Israel uses Colombian coal to make bombs that kill Palestinian children.”

It is noteworthy that Colombia is linked to Israel by a free trade agreement, and coal is considered the most important commodity exchanged between the two parties. Colombia is the largest exporter of coal to Israel, which relies on coal for 20% of its electricity production in general, and more than half of its imports of this raw material come from Colombia.

Last year, Colombia’s revenues from supplying Colombian coal to Israel amounted to $450 million for Colombia.

Welcome and praise

Social media users welcomed Colombia’s decision to stop exporting coal to Israel in comments and tweets, some of which were broadcast on the “Networks” program (2024/8/20).

Abdul Aziz Yaqzal wrote, “Despite the great distance between occupied Palestine and Colombia, it has stopped exporting coal to Israel because it uses it to make bombs. These are lessons from Colombia for those who support aggression against Palestinian lands.”

Hassan Ali considered that “Colombia’s position is honorable from the beginning. Funding for genocide must be stopped in order to end the war.”

“The world needs a lot of courage and strength to make such a decision,” Fares tweeted.

For her part, Maya praised Colombia’s decision, writing, “Colombia knows very well that its decision to ban coal exports to Israel will affect it economically, but with its courage and for the sake of the children and women of Gaza and the defenseless civilians who are killed every minute of the war, it made this decision.”

After Colombia banned coal exports to it, questions are being raised about Israel’s options to compensate for the shortage in coal imports. The Times of Israel quoted the Israel Electric Corporation as saying, “We have alternatives to Colombian coal, and we are negotiating with alternative suppliers.”