Nueva York, 16 de octubre de 2023.-
New York, October 16th, 2023.- Cuba reiterated, today, at the United Nations, its deep concern about the escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine, the result of decades of Israeli practices of illegal occupation and colonization, in flagrant violation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in their own territory.
This was ratified by Ambassador Gerardo Peñalver Portal, first vice minister of Foreign Affairs and Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, during the debate of the Second Commission of the General Assembly on “Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem Eastern, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan, on its natural resources.”
During his intervention, the Cuban diplomat rejected, on behalf of his country, the death of civilians and innocent people from all parties involved in this conflict, without differentiating ethnicity, nationality or religious faith.
Likewise, he condemned in the strongest terms the murders of civilians, especially women, children and humanitarian workers of the United Nations system; the indiscriminate bombings against Gaza and the destruction of homes, hospitals and civil infrastructure, as well as the deprivation of water, electricity and fuel services, actions that, according to him, constitute serious violations of International Humanitarian Law.
Peñalver Portal made an urgent call for a ceasefire and to immediately facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. “Violence will only contribute to exacerbating tensions and aggravating the humanitarian impact on civilians. The current panorama must stop. If it continues, the international community will inertly contemplate the extermination of the Palestinian people,” he emphasized.
On the other hand, the Permanent Representative of Cuba supported the demand of the Syrian Government to recover the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in 1967, and demanded Israel's total and unconditional withdrawal from the Syrian Golan and all occupied Arab territories.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations
Misión Permanente de Cuba ante Naciones Unidas