The PCP Secretary General accused the European Union this Monday of “hypocrisy and cynicism” regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas, calling for a “strong voice of condemnation” to stop “a massacre” in the Gaza Strip .
During a press conference following a meeting of the PCP Central Committee, which took place between Sunday and today, Paulo Raimundo reiterated that his party “distances and condemns” actions “that target the population and victimize innocent people,” but also the ‘escalation of the Israeli war against the Palestinian people’.
“It is worth highlighting the hypocrisy and cynicism of all those who talk so much about international law, but who have remained silent for so many years in the face of the brutality inflicted on the Palestinian people and who now remain silent in the face of the carnage and crimes of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, at the hands of the State of Israel,” he said.
When asked how he evaluates the position of the European Union (EU) and the Portuguese government regarding this conflict, the PCP Secretary General said that the EU fits into his idea of ”hypocrites and cynics.”
“It is enough to see the statements that have been made, the attitudes that have been adopted, what has been said and what has not been said, (…) to understand where the issue of hypocrisy and cynicism fits,” he said, also referring to the relocation of the presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament to Israel last Friday.
According to Paulo Raimundo: “are the very same ones who have been silent for years” about the situation in Palestine, who are now silent “in light of the war crimes that are taking place, this massacre that is taking place on the Israeli side in the Gaza Strip.”
“You don’t hear a word of this, not a single condemnation, not a single action or initiative to stop the crime being committed, just as they not only do not condemn, but support the dangerous attempts at prohibition, in various parts of the world. the world, demonstrations for peace and solidarity with the Palestinian people,” he said.
The PCP leader compared the ultimatum given by Israeli authorities to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip – ordering them to leave the north and move south – to telling someone that their house is going to be bombed, “but leave the living room.” and go to the bathroom.”
“This is what is being done to the Palestinian people, regardless of whether it is from Hamas or not. And it was about this that we had to hear a strong voice of condemnation and force it to stop, because if Israel is isolated in this process it will stop quickly,” he defended.
The PCP leader also added that the solution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas is “as in so many others: all it takes is the right word at the right time and the right power, from an international perspective, to to stop this conflict.” .”
Regarding the position of the Portuguese government, Paulo Raimundo insisted that the state “has the responsibility, with the strength and space it has, to comply with and enforce the resolutions of the United Nations (UN)” .
“I think that this issue does not arise, that is to say, the recognition that the resolution of the conflict involves the creation of two states, with the creation of the independent and sovereign State of Palestine: this is the position of the Portuguese government” , he said, reiterating that the executive branch must reaffirm this “in all its cases.”
When asked whether he also believes that the statements of the President of the Republic indicate “hypocrisy and cynicism”, Paulo Raimundo said that, based on what he has heard, the statements of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa do not fit this adjectives.
Source: DN
