The Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it was downgrading Israel’s ties with Brazil, saying that the South American country had refused to approve the credentials of Jerusalem’s nominee to serve as ambassador to Brasilia.

“After Brazil, unusually, refrained from replying to Ambassador [Gali] Dagan’s request for agrément, Israel withdrew the request, and relations between the countries are now being conducted at a lower diplomatic level,” read a statement from the ministry.

The ministry also noted that the “critical and hostile line that Brazil has displayed toward Israel” since the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023, “was intensified” by remarks from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last year.

Israel declared Lula a “persona non grata,” after he accused Jerusalem of “genocide” in Gaza, saying the only historical parallel was “when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.”

“The Foreign Ministry continues to maintain deep ties with Israel’s many circles of friends in Brazil,” the statement added.

There was no immediate response from Brasilia to the Israeli announcement.

Brazil recalled its ambassador to Israel last year and has yet to appoint a replacement.

The latest dip in ties between Jerusalem and Brasilia harkened back to a similar deterioration in 2015 when the latter refused to accept the credentials of Israeli ambassador Dani Dayan, a former head of the Yesha umbrella council of settlement mayors.

Israel eventually withdrew Dayan’s nomination and nominated Yossi Shelley for the role.

Shelley has been marred by his own controversies, including recently as ambassador to the UAE where he has reportedly angered Emirati officials for violating security protocols and acting in an “undignified” manner at a bar one Friday night.