Brazil has ratified a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority as the Occupied Territories are hit with a worsening economic crisis due to Israeli violence and restrictive policies. Israel has also blocked all commercial exports from Gaza since last September. The trade agreement was formally adopted during meetings of the Mercosur trade bloc in Paraguay over the weekend, where Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “We are proud to be the first country in the bloc to ratify the free trade agreement with Palestine. But I cannot help regret that this occurs in a context in which the Palestinian people are suffering as a result of a completely irrational war.”

It’s unclear whether other Mercosur nations, which includes Argentina, will follow suit. Far-right Argentinian President Javier Milei, an ally of Israel, was notably absent from the Mercosur talks as he attended a rally in support of former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil.