Lisbon: Portugal, along with 20 other countries and the European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, signed a joint statement on Tuesday expressing deep concern over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The joint statement, coordinated by the Netherlands and shared by the Portuguese Foreign Ministry on social media, said humanitarian aid entering Gaza “remains insufficient in both quantity and quality, while almost the entire population relies on life-saving services.”
The statement called on Israel to “comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law” and said that all internationally recognized humanitarian organizations “must be able to carry out their essential work without hindrance.”
The statement added that “Israel has the obligation to ensure and facilitate without delay the safe, rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population and to refrain from any action that would impede the delivery of such assistance in any way.”
Furthermore, the statement noted that the recent Israeli Supreme Court ruling upholding the registration law “will seriously affect and limit the ability of international non-governmental organizations to operate in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
Translated by Chouk Bora
