The number of requests from Portuguese to leave Israel is “increasing,” the national defense minister said on Tuesday, assuring that the ongoing repatriation operation is proceeding “in the best possible way.”
“[Há uma] Excellent coordination which makes the whole operation run smoothly. It happens. The goal is this: to bring everyone who expresses a desire to return to this time,” Helena Carreiras told reporters.
The minister, speaking in Ponta Delgada on the sidelines of the signing of a protocol with the Azores government on the implementation of the Education Framework for Security, Defense and Peace, did not specify the number of Portuguese to be expelled, revealing that the list is “increasing.”
“The list is growing, and we will be attentive to all requests,” he assured.
Helena Carreiras recalled that the Portuguese withdrawal from Israel is “a very dynamic plan” that “always depends on the circumstances on the ground.”
“We have an ongoing mission to return the Portuguese who express this desire. There is an Air Force C130 aircraft that operates from Cyprus to bring in those Portuguese who want to return. It is predicted that they will be able to return at the end of the day on a charter flight to TAP,” he emphasized.
Currently, according to him, a flight has already been carried out from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Larnarca (Cyprus).
“There are Portuguese who have already arrived from Tel Aviv to Cyprus, to Larnaca, where one or two flights are waiting for them. We’ll see. This is an operational decision that will depend on the list of those wishing to come and the composition of those wishing to come. “Conditions of the mission. I hope that we will be able to complete this mission in the coming days,” he emphasized.
Regarding the position that the European Union should take during the conflict, Helena Carreiras referred to the meeting of foreign ministers and considered that what is happening in the Middle East is “dramatic, especially for the affected civilian population.”
“The world, despite being more distant, should not cease to be a standard. Even in such a dramatic situation as the one we are experiencing in the Middle East, which [paz] may continue to cause serious concern to all participants and the entire international community,” he stressed.
The first group of 80 people out of nearly two hundred who signaled to Portuguese authorities their desire to leave Israel is already in Larnaca (Cyprus), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) said on Tuesday.
Taking into account Israeli authorities’ overflight permission, “the next C-130 flight could take place this evening, bringing a new group of Portuguese to the Cypriot city,” the Portuguese diplomat also said.
The TAP flight, chartered by the Portuguese state, will take off from Larnaca on Tuesday evening bound for Portugal and is expected to arrive in Lisbon this Wednesday, the ministry led by Joao Gomes Cravinho also said.
The Islamic group Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel on Saturday dubbed Al-Aqsa Storm, firing thousands of rockets and invading armed militias by land, sea and air.
In response to the surprise attack, Israel air-bombed several Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in an operation dubbed Operation Iron Swords.
As a result of the attacks and military response, hundreds of people were killed and more than a thousand were injured.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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