Brazil re­calls am­bas­sador to Is­rael in row over Lula's Gaza com­ments

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been declared persona non grata by Israel following his comparison of Israel's operations in Gaza to the Holocaust. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials strongly condemned Lula's remarks, with Netanyahu accusing him of trivialized the Holocaust and disgracing the memory of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis. The Brazilian ambassador was also recalled from Israel in response to these comments. Lula had made these statements during his current foreign tour, which was supposed to be a routine visit but instead led to diplomatic tensions between Brazil and Israel.