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Colombia’s President Urges Musicians to Join Concert Protesting Israel, Accuses Jewish State of ‘Genocide’ in Gaza
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro looks on during a meeting with Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Nov. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday called on artists to hold a major concert in the country in solidarity with the Palestinians, while also falsely accusing Israel of committing ”genocide” in the Gaza Strip during its war against Hamas terrorists controlling the enclave.
Petro took to X/Twitter and shared a video of Grammy-winning Puerto Rican rapper Rene Perez Joglar, also known by his stage name Residente, claiming Israel is perpetrating a “genocide” against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and asking other artists to denounce Israel’s defensive military campaign against Hamas. Petro then urged all artists to join him in a concert in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“I would like Rene and everyone who wants to use art to criticize the genocide against the Palestinian people to join me in the Plaza de Bolivar or in Simon Bolivar Park in Bogotá in a great concert against genocide and for life,” he wrote on X. “Let a cry of humanity against infamy come out of Bogotá. And from there we went to Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla and the regions of Colombia, go out in caravans to find us in the middle of art and music to come together to shout Enough, stop the killing!”
Residente announced in December that he was postponing his new album and the release of several music videos because of what he claimed to be “the genocide that Israel is committing with US support against the Palestinian civilian population.” He also criticized others in the music industry for not denouncing the ”genocide” taking place in Gaza.
In late October, Petro recalled Colombia’s ambassador to Israel in protest of Israel’s military offensive against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Israel launched its campaign in response to the deadly Oct. 7 massacre carried out by Hamas in southern Israel. Earlier that month, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced that it was suspending defense exports to Colombia because Petro refused to condemn the Hamas atrocities and compared Israel’s ensuing military campaign to the conduct of Nazi Germany.
The two countries have deep military ties, as Israel has been one of Colombia’s main suppliers of war planes, surveillance equipment and assault rifles since the 1990s.
The post Colombia’s President Urges Musicians to Join Concert Protesting Israel, Accuses Jewish State of ‘Genocide’ in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
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