Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's accusation, likening Israelis to Hitler and accusing them of genocide.
"The words of the President of Brazil are shameful and terrible. They show a disdainful attitude towards the Holocaust and an attempt to strike at the Jewish people and Israel's right to self-defense. Comparing Israel with the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis and Hitler is crossing a red line. Israel is fighting for its own protection and to guarantee its future until complete victory, while respecting international law. Foreign Minister Israel Katz and I have decided to immediately summon the Brazilian Ambassador to Israel to issue a severe reprimand," Netanyahu said in a comment.
Earlier, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, who became a guest at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, said: "What is happening in the Gaza Strip is not war, but genocide. This is not a war of soldiers with soldiers. A well-trained army is fighting women and children. This only happened once: when Hitler decided to exterminate the Jews."
