Chilean President Gabriel Borek refused to accept the credentials of the new Israeli ambassador, Gil Artziale, because of "Israel's killing of children in Gaza."
Chilean President Gabriel Borek refused, Thursday, to accept the credentials of Israeli Ambassador Gil Artzeli "because of the Israeli violations against the Palestinians."
"Ambassador Artzeli was already at the presidential palace for his planned meeting with Borek, when Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Origola informed him that credentials would not be accepted that day," the Israeli newspaper, "Jerusalem Post", said Friday.
"The concert was postponed to October," she added.
She pointed out that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the news, which was reported by the Chilean media for the first time.
She stated that the Chilean news website X-Antey quoted government sources as saying that Borek decided not to meet the ambassador, "because today is a very sensitive day, due to the death of a minor in the Gaza Strip."
The Jerusalem Post added: "In fact, the young man in question was killed in Israeli army operations in the West Bank, not Gaza."
The newspaper pointed out that Borek, the left-wing candidate, won the presidency earlier this year.
"The Jewish community in Chile has always expressed concerns about Borek's outspoken anti-Israel stance, and he described Israel as a 'killer country' in a meeting with the Jewish community during his election campaign," she said.
In addition, Borek previously supported a bill calling for a boycott of goods, services and products from Israeli settlements.
On the other hand, she mentioned that the number of the Palestinian community in Chile is about 350 thousand.
The newspaper pointed out that officials from the Chilean Foreign Ministry later apologized to the Israeli ambassador.
She said, “The apology was offered to Erzelli at a meeting late Thursday night, in which the new ambassador responded, saying: It was an unpleasant event for me, but as an Israeli and as a Jew, I can say that my people have gone through worse things in the last 4,000 years and we will overcome this as well.” The event is for the benefit of both countries.
The Israeli ambassador added, "We are turning a new page. For me, the incident was completely uncomfortable."
For its part, the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said, Friday: "After the Chilean president refused to accept the credentials of the Israeli ambassador, the Foreign Ministry announced that the Chilean ambassador to Israel would be summoned on Sunday to conduct a reprimand session."
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