Colombia Halts Coal Exports to Israel Over Gaza Genocide
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Colombia will cease coal exports to Israel in response to the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, President Gustavo Petro said.
"We are going to suspend coal exports to Israel until the genocide stops," Petro said in a post on X on Saturday.
He also shared a draft decree stating that coal exports would only resume if Israel complied with a recent International Court of Justice order, which mandated the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
Data from Colombia’s National Statistics Department shows that coal exports to Israel were valued at over $320 million in the first eight months of the previous year.
The Colombian government indicated that the export ban would take effect five days after the decree's publication in the official gazette.
On May 1, Petro announced that Colombia had decided to sever diplomatic ties with the Israeli regime due to the war.
"And we here in front of you, the government of change, the president of the republic informs that tomorrow diplomatic relations with the Israeli regime will be cut," he said at the time, adding, "(We cut diplomatic ties) because of them having a genocidal (prime minister)."
Israel relies on Colombia for more than 50% of its coal imports, primarily used to fuel its power plants, according to the American Journal of Transportation.
Since October last year, the Israeli war has killed over 36,801 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children.
