Cuba will support and contribute to all legitimate international efforts to put an end to the current situation that, as a result of the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, is causing, in the occupied Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, a humanitarian catastrophe of major proportions. Dantesque, which requires an urgent exit.
This was expressed by the member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, when offering a press conference yesterday, in which he condemned the indiscriminate bombings against the population in Gaza, and the destruction of homes, hospitals and civil infrastructure.
He added that nothing can justify such actions, which constitute serious violations of International Humanitarian Law, and condemned the murders of civilians and innocent people as a result of the current escalation, a pain that Cuba shares, he said, with the Arab and Hebrew communities.
He pointed out that the current situation is a consequence of 75 years of illegal occupation, the violation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in their own territory, and Israel's aggressive and expansionist policy. He added that the impunity with which he acts is explained by his complete confidence that there will be no consequences for his actions.
"That country violates UN resolutions and its obligations as an occupying power, under the Fourth Geneva Convention, fully relying on the paralysis of the Security Council," a body that, he argued, "has not even been able to make a called to stop the ongoing massacre.
He criticized the position of the United States, whose Government vetoed a proposal for a pause in military aggression, allowing access for humanitarian aid and guaranteeing the protection of civilians. He recalled that this administration has historically been complicit in Israel's impunity, by repeatedly obstructing Security Council action regarding Palestine, undermining peace and stability in the Middle East. "The United States has vetoed 46 Security Council resolutions related to the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question," he explained.
CUBA CALLS FOR JUST AND LASTING PEACE
"A just and lasting solution to the conflict requires, inexorably, the exercise of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to build their own independent and sovereign State, within the pre-1967 borders and with its capital in East Jerusalem," stated the Cuban Minister, who added that this has been the firm historical position of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 and China.
In order to save innocent lives, he called for "act immediately" and reaffirmed Cuba's invariable position, which urgently calls for a ceasefire; calls for an end to the war rhetoric, and demands the United States Government not to continue using the undemocratic and obsolete veto power to protect Israel.
He called for the immediate resumption of the tenth emergency special session of the UN General Assembly, and stressed that the highest priority of the discussions must be the cessation of violence and the provision of humanitarian aid.
Furthermore, the Greater Antilles requests that emergency humanitarian aid be urgently mobilized, under the coordination of the UN, to address the catastrophic situation in Gaza and that all parties involved facilitate the entry and distribution of that aid.
The Minister requested, on behalf of Cuba, that the General Assembly and the Security Council adopt the necessary measures to guarantee international protection to the Palestinian population; and he called on the mechanisms of political consultation and integration (NAM, G77 and China, Celac, among others) to play an active role to stop the escalation of violence.