Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister has accepted Chile’s apology, and the presentation of credentials from Israel’s ambassador to Chile has been scheduled for Sept. 30. This comes after Chile’s president rejected the presentation on Sept. 15. The government claims that the Israeli Army’s killing of a child in Gaza was the reason.
On Sept. 15, Israel’s Ambassador to Chile, Gil Artzyeli, was set to present his credentials to President Gabriel Boric in La Moneda. But just hours before, after hearing the news that a Palestinian child was killed in Gaza by the Israeli Army, government staff decided to suspend the event. Ex-Ante reports that the ambassador, who was already in the building at that point, had to leave immediately.
After the incident, the government released a statement on Sept. 17: “… the Chilean government, along with expressing that it was a measure of exceptional character, reiterates its permanent disposition to maintain a fraternal and constructive relationship with the State of Israel and its people, based on respect, dialogue and cooperation.”
According to Radio Universidad de Chile, Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Alon Ushpiz, accepted the apology, stating that he “receives with satisfaction the apology call, because indeed, it is a serious incident that may have caused severe damage to the relationships between Israel and Chile.”
On Sept. 19, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonia Urrejola had a meeting with Israel’s President Yitzhak Herzog in London, as both were there for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Biobío reports that the Israeli press said it was for the chancellor to give an apology, but the Ministry of Foreign Affair told La Tercera that the meeting was just a “general conversation.”
Catalina Vergara is graduated in Social Communications from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She has previously worked on Strategic Communications.