“When hope for peace disappears, despair prevails”, says Amorim to CNN

The head of the international advisory department of the Presidency of the Republic, Celso Amorim, said he saw no chance of resuming the peace process between Israel and Palestine in the short term.

In conversation with the CNN he condemned the attacks on Israel, but also drew attention to the stance of the Benjamin Netanyahu government in recent years.

“When hope [em um processo de paz] disappears, despair ends up prevailing”, said Amorim, in reference to the Netanyahu government’s policies in Israel, such as the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

“It does not reduce aggression in any way. [contra Israel], we will obviously condemn actions against civilians, but we must take into account that, while the Palestinians had some hope for peace, it did not occur. We cannot see this as an isolated fact.”

Amorim made a point of highlighting that this is not just his personal analysis. “Ehud Olmert [ex-primeiro-ministro de 2006 a 2009]important thinkers, the newspaper Haaretz tend to primarily attribute what happened to the Benjamin Netanyahu government”, added Amorim.

For him, the most relevant thing at this moment is to call for self-restraint, to avoid an escalation in the conflict. “Countries in the region need to act directly in this exercise of urging self-restraint.”

The international advisor said that he does not see Brazil, despite being president of the UN Security Council in October, as a protagonist at this moment.

He did not rule out some type of stronger action, but made it clear that the country did not offer itself. “If anyone wants to consult us, our telephone number is known,” she said.

“To tell the truth, I do not foresee that the resumption of the peace process will occur in the short term. The important thing is to prepare for the medium and long term. We cannot see this as an isolated fact,” he repeated.