This Wednesday, PAN asked the Foreign Minister for a parliamentary hearing on the attempts of several Portuguese citizens to evacuate family members trapped in the Gaza Strip, wanting to know what steps the government is taking.
In a request from the party of the sole MP Ines de Souza Real, PAN states that, according to information received, “several Portuguese citizens are trying to evacuate members of their families who are still trapped in the Gaza Strip, a total of 143 people.”
Despite understanding the “difficult diplomatic situation”, PAN believes that, given the “critical and urgent nature of this situation”, it is necessary to know what “steps the Portuguese government is taking to expel the 143 people” who are members of Portuguese-speaking families.
“And what additional measures can be taken to protect and save family members of Portuguese citizens who find themselves in such a situation,” he says.
To this end, Inês de Sousa Real’s party wants Paulo Rangel to give the necessary clarifications to the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Portuguese Communities “about the steps taken and the solutions envisaged for this urgent humanitarian problem affecting more than a hundred people.”
“An example of this situation is that of Portuguese citizen João Thomas Bossa, who lives in Luxembourg and is married to Wafaa Abo Zarif, a citizen of Palestinian and Luxembourgian nationality, who currently has around 20 family members trapped in the Gaza Strip,” he gives an example.
According to PAN, the Portuguese government had previously allowed the man’s mother-in-law to be taken out of the Gaza Strip, but his father-in-law and other family members remained in the region.
“In March, the Portuguese government announced the evacuation of 14 people linked to Portugal from the Gaza Strip, noting that the success of these efforts depended on the position of local authorities,” he adds.
The war in Gaza began on October 7 after a Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people. The group also took 250 hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory operation has destroyed entire neighborhoods and forced some 80 percent of the population to flee their homes. More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tallies.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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