Portugal is preparing to withdraw 16 Portuguese and a “wider group” of Palestinians with ties to the country from the Gaza Strip through Egypt, the Foreign Minister said this Monday.
“From the very beginning we have been in constant contact with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities and we have the opportunity to temporarily house them for two or three days in Egypt and transport them to Portugal. I wouldn’t want to be dramatic with this guy. In terms of terminology, the rescue operation is simply the withdrawal of the Portuguese from Egypt from the moment they can leave the Gaza Strip,” the Foreign Minister said this Monday.
Speaking to Portuguese journalists in Brussels at the end of a meeting of the heads of European Union diplomacy, João Gomes Cravinho noted that “the Portuguese and their families who are currently in the Gaza Strip will leave it in the same way as other foreigners have left the Gaza Strip these years.” . the last two weeks.”
“We are currently working with 16. There are six Portuguese and 10 close relatives. And then there is a broader group of Palestinians who have family ties to Portugal,” he explained. In previous statements to the Portuguese parliament, a government official indicated that six citizens held Portuguese passports, five of them minors.
When asked about the withdrawal process, João Gomes Craviño explained: “Our embassy has already studied and planned this since they entered Egypt. Our embassy […] will take on this responsibility and we will try to bring them to Portugal, in principle, by commercial means, because there are relatively few of them.”
According to a government spokesman, these citizens are “not abandoned.”
“We are constantly, every day and several times a day, in contact with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to find the best way to ensure their exit,” he said.
On Sunday, in a statement on behalf of the Union’s 27 heads of diplomacy, Josep Borrell said the EU was “gravely concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.”
“The EU joins calls for an immediate pause in hostilities and the creation of humanitarian corridors, including by increasing the capacity of border posts and a specific sea route, so that humanitarian aid can safely reach the people of Gaza,” the High Representative of Gaza urged. Union.
Speaking this Monday about taking up this position, João Gomes Cravinho admitted that “it took a whole weekend to reach this position.”
Recalling that Portugal preferred to ask for a “humanitarian ceasefire”, although the EU position was to call for “humanitarian pauses”, the minister stressed that 27 countries “agree” […] so that there are no more civilian casualties, as has happened so far.”
It was announced today that Josep Borrell will travel to Israel and Palestine and other Middle Eastern countries (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan) this week to discuss access to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and the two-state solution. .
“Go and talk, go and gather information and share our views based on our debates,” said João Gomes Craviño.
The war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, has entered its 38th day and continues to threaten to spread throughout the Middle East region. There are more than 11,000 dead, about 28,000 wounded, about 2,500 missing, mostly civilians, and about 1.5 million displaced in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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