Bolivia Cuts Ties With Israel Over Gaza War

The government of Bolivia announced this evening (Tuesday) that it is cutting diplomatic ties with Israel, due to the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel originally established diplomatic relations with Bolivia in 1950, but these have been ended and renewed several times due to Israel’s wars and military operations. In 2009, Israeli Ambassador to Bolivia Shlomo Cohen was expelled from the country as a protest against IDF strikes in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. Relations remained severed for 11 years.

It was only in 2019 that the Bolivian Foreign Minister announced that the country would renew relations with Israel and with the United States – according to her, the decision was meant to aid local tourism in both countries. The decision came in the wake of the resignation of then-President Evo Morales, who made the original decision to cut ties.