Luís Montenegro responded to accusations by Mariana Mortágua, who, upon arriving in Lisbon this Sunday after being detained by Israel, accused the government of inaction regarding the situation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The leader of the PSD, while campaigning in Vieira do Minho, initially stated that the government supports “the establishment of two states that coexist without extremism, terrorism, violence, or war.”
Montenegro argued that “Portugal has been at the forefront of the movement advocating respect for human rights and the rights of those unfairly penalized by a conflict that has persisted for too long.”
“We want to be part of the solution,” he assured, recalling Portugal’s intervention a year and a half ago to ensure the Palestinian Authority had full member status at the United Nations Assembly and praising Portugal’s “balanced and aligned position” with other countries such as France, Canada, and Australia.
“There are always the sides of extremes and antagonistic and critical positions,” he said in response to Mariana Mortágua, noting that “those who demand a government position, the truth is, when they were in a position to influence the government, such as BE while allied with PS, did nothing.”
The prime minister also stated that the Portuguese government did everything to repatriate activists detained by Israel “with normality and speed.”
“The truth is, the government did everything within its power to have the Portuguese repatriated as quickly as possible, in a climate of normality and tranquility. And I believe that is what happened,” said Luís Montenegro.
Confronted with a comment from CDS-PP president and his minister, Nuno Melo, in Ponte de Lima today — who said he would not “contribute more” to what he called a “show” by the Portuguese activists of the humanitarian flotilla — Montenegro only replied that the government, despite being composed of multiple parties, maintains a “strong and cohesive” position.
The president of CDS-PP said today in Ponte de Lima that he would not “contribute more” to what he called the “show” by the Portuguese activists of the humanitarian flotilla and advised them to focus on the local elections.
It is noteworthy that Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, and activists Miguel Duarte and Diogo Chaves landed in Madrid for a quick stopover before returning to Lisbon.
The four Portuguese were detained last Wednesday night to Thursday when Israeli forces intercepted about 50 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aimed to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
BE coordinator Mariana Mortágua, who joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, accused Israel of fabricating “a crime” to have her detained and maintained that she “never” admitted to it before the authorities.
“They invented a crime, but we never admitted to it and left the country,” she said in an interview with RTP3 at Madrid airport in Spain, when asked if she had difficulty acknowledging committing a crime by entering the territory “illegally.”
In statements to Now, the deputy revealed that the detainees were “mistreated” in prison, spending “several hours in cells under the sun.”
“They moved us many times, we were handcuffed several times,” she recounted.
Nevertheless, she expressed satisfaction that they “came a bit closer to breaking the humanitarian blockade on Gaza” and assured that the “flotilla will continue.”
[Updated at 12:57]
