The heads of Portuguese and Slovenian diplomacy will travel to Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt on Friday and Saturday for high-level and high-level meetings with their counterparts aimed at “political dialogue” and “relaunching the diplomatic path” towards peace.
In a statement, the government said the joint visit of the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Slovenia, Tanja Fajon, intends to “continue dialogue and consultation with actors in the region and contribute to the ongoing political dialogue, which is essential to respond to the situation and anchor the diplomatic path towards building a lasting and sustainable peace in a two-state solution.”
The Portuguese and Slovenian ministers will meet with their Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, in the south of the country on Friday, and will be received by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.
On the same day, in Ramallah, in the West Bank, meeting with the head of Palestinian diplomacy, Riyad al-Maliki, and will meet with the Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh.
According to the note from the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saturday will be devoted to “dialogue on the current situation and prospects for peace in the region with two important regional partners – Jordan and Egypt”.
In Amman, the ministers will meet with Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi.
The afternoon, In Egypt, João Gomes Cravinho and Tanja Fajon have a scheduled meeting with their counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, as well as a courtesy meeting with the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Also in Cairo, Ministers have a scheduled meeting with Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, during which they plan to discuss “the current situation from a regional perspective”, namely the role of the organization and its cooperation with the European Union, “with a view to peace and stability in the Middle East”.
On October 0, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a large-scale surprise attack on Israel, resulting in more than 1,200 deaths and 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and is classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States, bombing several of the group’s infrastructure facilities in the Gaza Strip and completely besieging the territory. cutting off the supply of water, fuel and electricity.
According to Hamas, Israeli retaliation has already killed more than 14,000 people.
The UN indicated that more than two-thirds of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents had been displaced by the war, with the majority fleeing south.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day ceasefire, which is expected to be announced soon, Qatar, one of the mediators along with Egypt and the United States, announced today.
Qatar’s announcement comes after an Israeli national security adviser said the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip and the start of the ceasefire, scheduled for this morning, will not take place before Friday.
Source: DN
