In Brasília, Thursday’s protest, organized by the National Union of Students and other social movements, took place in front of the Palácio do Itamaraty, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We want the Brazilian government to act prudently to protect Brazilians and all those who were illegally detained and to sever relations with the terrorist state of Israel,” demanded André Doz Carvalho, a 24-year-old history student.
The Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of about 50 vessels, between Wednesday and Thursday, which was heading to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid, detaining the participants, including 15 Brazilians.
Protesters accused the Israeli government of kidnapping and seizing the flotilla activists who were headed to the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid in international waters.
First Secretary of the National Union of Higher Education Institutions’ Teachers, Jaqueline Lima, denounced the genocide of the Palestinian population and called on Lula da Silva to break diplomatic relations with Israel.
“And in addition to severing relations, we need to identify all the companies that today, directly or indirectly, may be contributing to Israel’s genocide,” she added.
In São Paulo, Juliana Cardoso, a deputy from the Workers’ Party (PT), led by Lula, stated that the kidnapping of the flotilla members is unacceptable and that efforts must be made to end the war and genocide in the Gaza Strip.
“We must remain very close” to the Palestinian people so that they can achieve “freedom” and no longer suffer “death, violence, hunger, and misery,” expressed the legislator.
Hours earlier, the Brazilian government condemned the “illegal interception and arbitrary detention” of the activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels by Israel and called for the “immediate release” of the citizens.
Israel also detained four Portuguese citizens – Bloco de Esquerda leader Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, and activists Miguel Duarte and Diogo Chaves – along with 30 Spaniards, 22 Italians, 21 Turks, 12 Malaysians, 11 Tunisians, and 10 French citizens, as well as citizens from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, and Colombia.
The organizers reported a lack of information about the whereabouts of 443 participants of the humanitarian mission.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro expressed on Thursday his hope that the Portuguese citizens can return to the country “without any incident,” considering that the humanitarian flotilla’s message was conveyed.
