Brazil signaled conditional openness to joining a proposed international Peace Council on Gaza, with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressing that any such framework must include Palestinian representation to be credible. In a recorded interview with Brazilian news outlet Universo Online (UOL) on Thursday, Lula said Brazil would consider participation only if the council’s mandate is limited to Gaza and Palestinians are present at the table. ‘Any path that does not include Palestinians cannot be considered a peace committee,’ he said. Lula revealed that he conveyed this position directly to US President Donald Trump, telling him that Brazil has ‘every interest’ in participating if the initiative is genuinely focused on Gaza. He criticized ideas circulating about post-war reconstruction, arguing that some proposals resemble ‘a tourist resort more than reconstruction,’ and questioned who would rebuild homes, hospitals, and bakeries destroyed during the war. The Brazilian president also said he had spoken with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, expressing Brazil’s readiness to take part in any serious international effort, while reiterating that Palestinian inclusion is a non-negotiable condition. READ: How the Palestinian diaspora in Venezuela reacted to Maduro’s abduction. The interview coincided with the circulation of images showing Lula wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh after receiving it from the newly appointed Palestinian ambassador to Brazil, Marwan Jibril, during the presentation of credentials ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasília earlier this week. On relations with Washington, Lula said he is working to arrange a visit to the United States, likely in the first week of March, for a face-to-face meeting with Trump. He said discussions between them should be direct, describing Brazil and the United States as the ‘two largest democracies in the West.’ Lula added that no subject is off limits for him, except Brazil’s sovereignty, which he described as ‘sacred.’ Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had accused his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on 23rd January of seeking to become the ‘master’ of a ‘new United Nations’ by launching the so-called ‘Peace Council,’ arguing that the move aims to circumvent the United Nations rather than work to reform it. In a speech delivered the same day, Lula said that Trump, ‘instead of reforming the United Nations, is proposing the creation of a new international body for which he would be the sole reference,’ warning of the rise of ‘unilateralism’ and the ‘law of the strongest’ at the expense of the multilateral international order. He explained that he had held a series of contacts with a number of world leaders in defense of the central role of the United Nations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, as part of efforts to preserve the multilateral international system. Lula also criticized the Gaza reconstruction plan put forward by the Trump administration after the Israeli assault, saying it ignores the scale of destruction and human losses and turns the humanitarian tragedy into an investment project. ‘More than 70,000 people were killed, and now they say they will rebuild Gaza and put luxury hotels there,’ he said. Brazil has reinforced its critical stance on the war in Gaza, as Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said that his country condemns attacks targeting civilians, stressing that the Israeli response is ‘disproportionate, unacceptable, and something Brazil cannot agree with.’ READ: Right-wing rise in Latin America put Palestinian support at risk. Vieira’s remarks came in an interview with Al Jazeera in which he emphasized that the situation in Gaza has resulted in more than seventy thousand deaths, and that targeting civilians requires clear condemnation and cannot be justified politically or morally. The Brazilian foreign minister said the world is experiencing a deep crisis in the international system established after World War II, arguing that reforming the United Nations and its main institutions—particularly the Security Council—has become an urgent necessity so they reflect today’s real global power balances, rather than those of 1945. He pointed to the marginalization of Global South countries from international decision-making circles. Vieira stressed that Brazil continues to rely on diplomacy, multilateralism, and peaceful dialogue, rejecting their replacement with military force. He reaffirmed Brazil’s support for the two-state solution, its official recognition of the State of Palestine, and its continued commitment to supporting Palestinian rights in international forums. The Brazilian position reflects a clear political convergence in holding regional and international systems responsible for failing to uphold international law and halt the genocide in Gaza, while calling for rebuilding the international order on more collective, just, and effective foundations. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.