Communist Party questions government on meeting with Israeli official
Portugal Resident
Israeli official involved in promoting “Israel Allies Foundation”
The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) has questioned the right-of-centre coalition government about a meeting earlier this week between the secretary of state for foreign affairs and an Israeli deputy minister – criticising the fact that it took place at a time when the government in Tel Aviv is accused of violating international law.
In a question addressed to the minister of foreign affairs, Paulo Rangel, through parliamentary channels, the PCP’s parliamentary leader, Paula Santos, notes that “on social media pages associated with Israel’s diplomatic representation in Portugal, it was reported on November 20 that the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel was meeting with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Portuguese government.
“According to these publications, the meeting took place that same day, as part of the trip to Portugal by the Israeli government official, allegedly her first official visit since taking office,” the PCP emphasises.
The party stresses that, on the same occasion, “and always according to pages linked to Israel’s diplomatic representation in Portugal, Israel’s deputy foreign minister took part in a ceremony in the Assembly of the Republic for the creation of the Portuguese representation of the ‘Israel Allies Foundation’, an Israeli lobbying organisation linked to that country’s extreme right”.
According to the same sources, the PCP adds this representation will be led in Portugal by Liliana Reis, a member for the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Pedro Frazão, a member for the far-right Chega party, adding that this was also reported in the Israeli press (but not in the Portuguese…)
“For more than a year, Israel has been carrying out brutal military action in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 which, according to the International Court of Justice, may involve the commission of the crime of genocide, to such an extent that, on two occasions, on January 26 and March 28 2024, (the court) ordered provisional measures that must be applied by all the parties involved”.
The PCP also points out that, more recently, the General Assembly of the United Nations, “following an opinion issued by the same court, passed a resolution considering the occupation of Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel in 1967 to be illegal, urging states to assume their responsibilities, namely by refraining from any measure or initiative that contributes to the prolongation of that occupation.”
In this context, the PCP asks the minister “what is the scope of the visit to Portugal by Israel’s deputy foreign minister? What is the purpose of the meeting between a representative of the Portuguese government and this political leader of the Israeli government, given the serious accusations against that state in international fora and its repeated practice of disrespecting and defying international law and the UN?“
Finally, the PCP also wants to know how the government assesses “the presence of Israel’s deputy minister at a ceremony held in the Assembly of the Republic to set up an association aimed at influencing Portugal’s foreign policy in a direction favourable to Israel’s interests”.
And the unspoken questions: why was all this kept out of the Portuguese media? And how does this apparent approach to Portugal gel with the more public statements by foreign minister Rangel, denouncing Israeli land grabbing?
Source material: LUSA
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