Chile apologizes for snubbing Israeli envoy
Chile apologised to Israel after Israel’s ambassador to Chile was snubbed by the country’s ruler during an official ceremony.
Gil Artzyeli
Gil Artzyeli, the Israeli ambassador to Chile, arrived on Thursday at the president’s residence to present his credentials but was told that he could not submit the document to President Gabriel Boric following Israel’s counterterrorism operations. The ambassador was informed of this belligerent act, while the other ambassadors who were invited submitted their credentials to the president. Artzyeli left the presidential palace.
In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that “Israel views with severity the puzzling and unprecedented behaviour of Chile. This seriously harms the relations between the two countries.”
The Chilean Ambassador to Israel has been summoned by the Director General of the MFA on Sunday for a reprimanding conversation in which Israel’s response “will be made clear” to the ambassador.
However, Chile’s acting Foreign Minister Ximena Fuentes Torrijo called Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz on Saturday evening and apologised for the incident.
The country also announced that it rescheduled the acceptance of the credentials of the Israeli ambassador to Santiago.
“The decision to postpone the presentation of the Letters of Credence must be understood within the framework of the political sensitivity generated by the death of a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager, in the north of the West Bank, during an operation by the Israeli Army, which occurred the same day of tat presentation,” the Chilean Foreign Ministry claimed.
“However, the Government of Chile, along with expressing that it was an exceptional measure, reiterates its permanent willingness to maintain a fraternal and constructive relationship with the State of Israel and its people, based on respect, dialogue and cooperation,” it explained.
“Likewise, the Government of Chile uses this opportunity to reiterate its willingness to contribute to the construction of a world in peace, understanding the latter not only as one without conflicts, but also as one in which equality, justice and respect reign,” it said.
