Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva removed his ambassador to Israel from his post and sent him to serve as his special representative in Geneva amid a diplomatic spat between the two countries, the official gazette showed on Wednesday.

The removal of Frederico Meyer comes after Lula called him back to Brazil. Meyer’s recall had followed Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz summoning Meyer to tell him Lula was persona non grata in the West Asian country.

Israel’s move was related to Lula’s remarks likening Israel’s war on Gaza to the Holocaust. Meyer had not returned to Israel since then.

He will now serve as Brazil’s special representative to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva.

A new Brazilian ambassador to Israel will be announced in due course, Brazil’s foreign relations ministry said, adding that until then, its embassy in Tel Aviv will be led by its charge d’affaires.