President Biden will meet with Chilean President Gabriel Boric even as the South American leader\u2019s government recalls its diplomats from Israel, a measure several countries have initiated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The leaders will have a bilateral meeting Thursday to discuss a range of topics, with climate change and \u2018irregular migration\u2019 chief among them, according to a White House announcement late last month.<\/p>\n
There are seemingly no plans \u2014 at least publicly \u2014 for the two leaders to discuss the Middle East crisis, which grows increasingly severe as Israel continues to carry out operations in the Gaza Strip following a Hamas terrorist attack Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 Israelis.<\/p>\n
\u2018President Biden should take the opportunity to address Israel\u2019s war with Hamas in Gaza with President Boric who, like other left-leaning leaders in Latin America, has taken a very anti-Israel public stance,\u2019 Emanuele Ottolenghi, senior fellow\u00a0at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies who focuses on U.S.-Latin America relations, told Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ottolenghi lamented that Chile, Colombia and Bolivia\u2019s diplomatic protests have unnecessarily escalated tensions internationally, especially as the countries did not condemn Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Latin American nations, did however respond strongly to IDF (Israel Defense Forces) incursions in Gaza, most notably when the IDF bombed the Jabalia refugee camp Tuesday, killing Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari, whom the Israelis claimed was hiding at that camp. Israeli forces repeatedly warned Palestinians to evacuate the camp in recent days due to the presence of Hamas operatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The IDF insisted Biari \u2018oversaw all military operations in the northern Gaza Strip since the IDF entered\u2019 and that he was \u2018also responsible for sending the terrorists who carried out the 2004 terrorist attack in the Ashdod Port\u2019 as well as directing rockets toward Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chile, Bolivia and Colombia have all recalled their ambassadors from Israel, with Chile\u2019s Boric accusing Israel of committing \u2018unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law.\u2019 Boric particularly highlighted what he said was the \u2018collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza\u2019 due to the high number of civilian deaths \u2014 many of them said to be women and children \u2014 during Israel\u2019s operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colombia\u2019s left-wing president Gustavo Petro called Israel\u2019s operations a \u2018massacre\u2019 and likened Israel\u2019s actions to those of the Nazis, a comparison that drew a sharp response from Israel\u2019s foreign ministry, The Guardian reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s foreign ministry responded by demanding Chile and Colombia condemn Hamas, saying it expects the countries to stand by Israel and support its right to defend its citizens and not Venezuela and Iran, which \u2018support Hamas terrorism.\u2019 The ministry noted citizens of Chile and Colombia are among the victims of the Hamas attack, Israeli news agency TPS reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Israel-Hamas war aside, Ottolenghi noted the importance of U.S.-Chile relations, which stretch back 200 years, and that climate and environmental issues remain a paramount concern as South America finds itself increasingly at the center of international issues due to the continent\u2019s rich rare earth mineral resources \u2013 key components for producing electronic devices, processor chips and electric car batteries.<\/p>\n
He warned, though, that Chile is increasingly finding itself as a key figure in the international tug-of-war between the U.S. and its rivals, particularly China and Iran. He explained that China has pursued \u2018aggressive\u2019 policies in Latin America to secure better access to rare earth minerals, including an agreement with Bolivia to mine the country\u2019s rich lithium resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Chile is a repository of one of the world\u2019s largest reserves of lithium, which is essential to President Biden\u2019s green transition agenda,\u2019 he explained. \u2018Moreover, Chile has serious water problems that can be addressed through new technologies. This is an area where the U.S. and Chile can work together. \u00a0Biden understands the United States needs to respond to China\u2019s growing economic influence in Latin America,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
The State Department and National Security Council did not respond to Fox News Digital requests for comment by time of publication.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Andrea Vacchiano and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n