The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, is going to ask the Supreme Court (STF) for permission to visit Israel, at a time of crisis in diplomatic relations between the two countries. Bolsonaro is banned from leaving the country.

Bolsonaro's lawyer, Fábio Wajngarten, told the Brazilian press on Sunday that the politician had received an invitation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Israel.

Wajngarten, quoted by Notícias ao Minuto, said he will file an appeal this week asking the Supreme Court to return Bolsonaro's passport and authorize the former head of state to make this trip.

It is known that Bolsonaro was forced to surrender his passport and banned from leaving Brazil on February 8, while the STF investigates his alleged participation in a plot to promote a coup against the current President, Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro, an unconditional ally of Netanyahu and a strong critic of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which he considers a terrorist group, intends to visit Israel to express support for the offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Lula da Silva, during a trip to Ethiopia, where he took part in the African Union Summit in mid-February, said that "what is happening" in the Gaza Strip does not exist in "any other historical moment. In fact, it existed when Hitler decided to kill the Jews".

These statements sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two countries and led the State of Israel to consider Lula 'persona non grata'.