Her statement was made before delegates from 30 countries gathered in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, for a two-day conference focused on the Israel-Hamas conflict and options for international intervention. Many participating states have already labeled the violence as genocide against Palestinians.

“Every state must immediately reassess and sever all ties with the State of Israel… and ensure that its private sector does the same,” Albanese stated. “Israel’s economy is structured in a way that sustains the occupation, which has now turned genocidal.”

The conference, organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa, is primarily attended by developing countries, although Spain, Ireland, and China have also sent delegates.

Israel, founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, categorically rejects accusations of genocide, labeling them an antisemitic “blood libel.”

According to analysts, it remains unclear whether the countries participating in the conference have real leverage over Israeli policy in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have reportedly been killed in Israeli military operations following Hamas’s deadly 2023 attack on Israel. While the data, provided by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, the figures are widely accepted by the UN and other international organizations as the most reliable source on the death toll.

“The United States has so far failed to influence Israel’s behavior… so it’s naive to think this group of countries will be able to pressure Benjamin Netanyahu or the Israeli government,” commented Professor Sandra Borda from Los Andes University in Bogotá. She added, however, that the conference provides an opportunity for Global South countries to make their positions clear.

The meeting is jointly chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia, both of which halted coal exports to Israeli power plants last year. It also includes members of the so-called The Hague Group — a coalition of eight countries committed to ending military cooperation with Israel and complying with the international arrest warrant for Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party has for decades compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to apartheid under the country’s former white minority rule, which ended in 1994. Pretoria currently maintains that Palestinians are subjected to oppression in their homeland akin to that experienced by Black South Africans under apartheid.

The conference comes as the European Union is considering measures against Israel, including a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, an arms embargo, and individual sanctions against Israeli officials obstructing a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister Mauricio Jaramillo said the participating states — including Qatar and Turkey — would discuss diplomatic and legal tools to pressure Israel into ending the military campaign.

According to him, Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank constitute an assault on the international order. “This is not just about Palestine — it is about defending international law… and the right to self-determination,” Jaramillo emphasized. |BGNES