The Israeli ambassador to Portugal, Dor Shapira, defended the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, during a vigil in Lisbon, when he told the Palestinian representative that it was some Palestinians who caused the new conflict in Gaza.
“He [Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa] told the truth. She [palestinianos] the war started on October 7. That’s what he said and I don’t understand the problem,” the diplomat told Lusa, on the sidelines of a vigil organized by the Israeli community of Lisbon in Praça do Município in the Portuguese capital over the controversy involving the Portuguese president.
During a visit to the Diplomatic Bazaar, in Lisbon’s Congress Center, on Friday, the head of state told the leader of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Portugal that some Palestinians “should not have started this war with Israel” and advised them to be moderate. and peaceful.
After a pro-Palestinian demonstration and protest against the words of the President of the Republic on Sunday near the Palace of Belém – and which was attended by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa himself – the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Portugal stated in an interview with RTP, who expected another speech from the Portuguese statesman.
“I was waiting for words of empathy from the President of the Republic about the 10,000 Palestinian civilians who died in Gaza and who were not involved in the conflict in any way,” Nabil Abuznaid emphasized, citing figures from local authorities, monitored by Hamas, which carried out the attack on October 7.
During this afternoon’s vigil in Lisbon, the Israeli ambassador questioned some pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli statements about the conflict during protests in Portugal, describing them as cases of anti-Semitic demonstrations involving chants about “liberating Palestine from the River Jordan’. to the sea,” which, he warns, “means the destruction of the State of Israel.”
Ignoring the question of whether some people “even know what they are saying,” Dor Shapira drew “red lines between freedom of expression and terrorism,” referring to attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which Tel Aviv authorities say killed about 1,400 people left behind. people were killed over reports of extreme atrocities, and more than 200 were taken to the Gaza Strip as hostages.
Regarding the accusation against Israel of lack of proportionality in the attacks it has carried out on Hamas in that Palestinian enclave since October 7, the diplomat wonders whether critics expect the Israeli army to do the same as Hamas on October 7 . , referring to reported episodes of cruel and inhumane deaths of civilians and rape of women.
“I also defend peace and it is in my interest that the two peoples live side by side peacefully. I have family and children living in Israel,” he said. However, he emphasized that “peace is one thing and terrorism is another.”
Under the motto ‘Together We Stand’, today’s vigil in Lisbon brought together several dozen participants to commemorate the 30 days since the Hamas attack and to remember the 241 hostages held captive by the Palestinian movement.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel with the launch of thousands of rockets and the raid of armed militiamen, taking more than two hundred hostages.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and has been classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States. Israel bombed several of the group’s infrastructure facilities in the Gaza Strip before launching a ground attack on Hamas. the enclave and imposing a total siege on the area, cutting off water, fuel and electricity supplies.
The conflict has already caused thousands of deaths and injuries in both areas, among military personnel and civilians.
Source: DN
