President of Colombia Gustavo Petro has announced the termination of coal shipments to Israel, following a campaign led by a coalition of Palestinian activists, indigenous groups and trade unionists, Middle East Eye reports on June 11th.
An alliance of Palestinian organizations, indigenous groups and Colombian trade unionists has declared victory after President Gustavo Petro announced earlier this month that Colombia would halt its coal exports to Israel.
Read more: Israel Attacks UN-Operated School in Central Gaza
The decree, issued on Saturday, June 8th, suspends coal shipments to Israel until the country complies with the International Court of Justice’s order to cease its assault on Rafah.
The move follows a June letter from the Palestinian Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) to President Petro, echoing calls from Sintracarbon, Colombia’s largest coal miners’ union, for an export ban:
The ongoing genocide, its length and magnitude would not have been possible if the colonising state of Israel had stopped receiving energy sources allowing it to commit one of the most atrocious crimes in history.
Governments failing to take action are enabling the annihilation of Palestinians.
Gustavo Petro waves the national flag while delivering a speech during a May Day rally in Bogotá on May 1st. Photo
Colombia is Israel’s main coal supplier, providing 60 percent of the country’s coal imports in 2023, according to data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea.
Petro’s ban comes on the heels of Turkey’s decision to halt all trade with Israel last month and the Maldives’ ban on Israeli passport holders entering the country.
Also, in May, Colombia’s first leftist president, announced the severance of diplomatic ties with Israel, abruptly ending the historically close military and commercial relations between the two nations:
If Palestine dies, humanity dies.
Middle East Eye, S&P Global Commodities at Sea and agencies