International Desk

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared that Brazil doesn’t recognise Hamas as a terrorist movement as it follows the guidelines established by the UN Security Council.

Hamas contested elections in the Gaza Strip and they won, Lula da Silva said at a press conference held at the Planalto presidential palace in Brazil's capital city Brasilia on Saturday, reports Middle East Monitor financed by the State of Qatar.

“Brazil’s position is clear. Brazil only recognises the terrorist organisations as UN Security Council considers, and Hamas is not recognised by the Council as a terrorist organization,” Lula said.

“What we want now from the Israeli prime minister is to end the war on Gaza Strip. It seems that Netanyahu forgot that Gaza doesn’t only include Hamas soldiers, but there are women and children, the greatest victims of the war,” he added.

Furthermore, Lula Da Silva stressed on Brazil’s position in favor of peace, “What is required now is to overcome the force of bullets with the force of dialogue. I will continue talking about peace. The power of dialogue is capable of defeating and more effective than the powerful bomb that man can produce.”

At the end of the press conference, Lula reinforced his commitment to rescue Brazilians who are still in Gaza, “We will not let a single Brazilian stay in Gaza Strip. We will try to look for everyone, because this is the role of the Brazilian government”.

Earlier this week, The Brazilian federal government has issued a statement, explaining the reasons behind not classifying Hamas as terrorist movement amid growing pressure on the Brazilian government to recognise Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

According to the statement, Brazil follows the guidelines established by the UN Security Council which has the authority and legitimacy to designate a group as a terrorist organisation. As stipulated in Article 24 of the United Nations, Hamas was not included on the list of entities such as the Islamic State, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram.

“The Security Council maintains lists of individuals and entities classified as terrorists, whom sanctions are applied on them. The Islamic State and Al-Qaeda are included and they are a well-known to the public. According to the principles of international relations provided in Article 4 of the Constitution, Brazil repudiates terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the government mentioned.

“The Brazilian practices, consistent with the UN resolutions, enable the country to contribute together with other countries or individually to the peaceful resolutions of conflicts and the protection of Brazilian citizens in conflict zones in the Middle East.”

It’s worth mentioning that Lula Da Silva slammed Israel’s war on the besieged Gaza Strip as a “genocide” days ago. “What is happening is not a war. It is a genocide that led to the killing of nearly 2,000 children who had nothing to do with this war. They are the victims of this war.”

The Brazilian president warned that the developments in the Middle East are “dangerous,” adding that the issue is not a matter of discussing “who is right and who is wrong, who fired the first bullet and who fired the second.”