Demonstration for peace and free Palestine: BE and PCP accuse the Government of being an accomplice of Israel

BE and PCP leaders today accused the Government of being Israel’s accomplice and challenged it to act to “stop the massacre” taking place in the Middle East, immediately preventing the delivery of weapons to Tel Aviv.

Speaking to journalists during a demonstration in Lisbon to demand peace in the Middle East and an independent Palestine, the coordinator of Bloco de Esquerda, Mariana Mortágua, highlighted that “Israel is setting the Middle East on fire, it is violating international law, it is occupying territories and carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza, Palestine, illegally, is invading Lebanon, is killing hundreds of civilians every day”.

“And the West is whistling to the side, as if nothing happened, as if there were no international law. Where are we going to end up, what are we turning into? A group of nations that put international law under the carpet? “, he questioned.

Mariana Mortágua defended that it is “necessary to act” and accused the government of having “a hypocritical and complicit position”, giving as an example the fact that it has not yet removed the Portuguese flag from a boat transporting explosives to Israel.

“It did not prevent the passage by air or sea of ​​weapons that are destined for massacres, ethnic cleansing, the endless war that Israel wants to wage in the Middle East. We have no more time to waste: there can be no more complacency, justifications, or excuses” , he maintained.

For the BE coordinator, “this war has to be fought” and, to do so, “it is necessary to stop the Government of Israel and Netanyahu, which is an extreme right-wing Government, which is carrying out ethnic cleansing and a war against the entire region”.

“Therefore, what needs to be done is to impose sanctions on Israel, block the passage of weapons, remove the flag from ships, have an unequivocal position of recognition of the State of Palestine. We can no longer tolerate so much complicity and so much hypocrisy,” he said.

In turn, the general secretary of the PCP, Paulo Raimundo, also present at the demonstration, argued that it is necessary to demand an “end to the massacre, this unlimited aggression that is taking place with the people of Palestine, with the Lebanese people, at hands of Israel and having as an accomplice the hypocrisy of the United States, the European Union (EU) and the Portuguese Government”.

Paulo Raimundo highlighted that a massacre has been following for a year that left “thousands of children and men dead” and warned that the conflict is now taking on such proportions throughout the Middle East region that “you can’t imagine what is what could happen.”

“We must demand that Israel and the United States stop this massacre, that the EU stops being an accomplice and hypocrite in this massacre and that the Portuguese Government, once and for all – without this solving everything – recognizes the State of Palestine, as a decisive contribution to pressuring Israel to end this ongoing massacre,” he said.

Asked what the Government can do in light of what is happening in the Middle East, the secretary general of the PCP replied: “Either the Government remains silent and complicit in what is happening at this time in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon and the Middle East, or take the initiative to take the initiative.”

“There are two fundamental issues: first, impose an end to the transfer of weapons to Israel. The second issue, does not solve everything, but it was a very important sign, it was the Portuguese Government recognizing the State of Palestine and the two-state solution”, he said , highlighting that “there is no justification” for the Government not to do so.

Thousands of people are demonstrating in the center of Lisbon today to demand peace in the Middle East and an independent Palestine.

“Peace yes, war no” or “peace in the Middle East is possible and urgent” are some of the slogans heard.

The demonstration began at around 3:30 pm in Martim Moniz square and will end in the municipal square, in downtown Lisbon.