Minister will be meeting with ‘both sides’ of conflict
Portugal’s foreign minister Paulo Rangel will be in Israel and the West Bank early next week, a two-day visit in which he will meet with the Israeli president and the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority.
On Monday, Rangel will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum before meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, his ministry has said in a statement released today.
In the afternoon, a meeting is scheduled with families of hostages captured by Hamas in the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7, 2023 and a meeting with the director of the NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, Daniel Seidemann.
On Tuesday, he will meet with the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, and the UN coordinator for humanitarian aid in the occupied Palestinian territories, Muhannad Hadi.
After the meetings in Jerusalem, Rangel will head to Ramallah, in the West Bank, where he will meet with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mohammad Mustafa, before visiting the Amari refugee camp.
Last Tuesday, Paulo Rangel stated that he intends to convey to Israeli authorities Portugal’s “solidarity” in relation to the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023, but also “discontent with the disproportion” of the Israeli reaction in Gaza, as well as appealing for them to be able to “continue on the path of ceasefire, of course, with guarantees for Israel”.
To the Palestinian Authority, the head of Portuguese diplomacy stated that he wants to “teach them that it is essential to take advantage of the opportunity, with the resources provided by the international community, to empower themselves and maintain a stance in favor of peace.”
A visit to Egypt, the country mediating peace in the Gaza Strip, was also planned, but has had to be cancelled as top diplomats from Arab countries travel to Washington in the wake of President Trump’s floated plan for Gaza.
Instead, Paulo Rangel could go to Lebanon on Wednesday, says Lusa. It is a visit that is yet to be confirmed.
Source: LUSA
