The presidential candidate, Catarina Martins, has called for the “immediate release” of all crew members of the Global Freedom Flotilla and stressed the urgency for all governments to take a firm stand in providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
“Millions of people are taking to the streets to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the Gaza Strip. That is the purpose of the flotilla; to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip,” she stated during a demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy in Lisbon.
“Those now detained and illegally captured by Israel acted because they stepped up to do what all governments should be doing, breaking the blockade and bringing humanitarian aid to the population. We are witnessing deaths from hunger, inflicted by the will of an organized and recognized state,” she accused.
Catarina Martins further described Israel’s actions as “unacceptable” and reiterated that “those who rise to deliver humanitarian aid are doing the work of humanity.”
For the presidential candidate, it is “urgent for all governments to have a resolute voice.”
Highlighting that the coordinator of the Left Bloc (BE), Mariana Mortágua, along with three other Portuguese citizens, is “illegally detained by Israel,” and there has been “no contact for many hours,” Catarina Martins accused Israeli authorities of a “clear breach of international obligations.”
“Immediate release of all illegally detained citizens is necessary. Not just the Portuguese, but all. Every person in that flotilla, trying to bring powdered milk to starving children and babies, must be freed immediately,” she appealed.
In addition to BE coordinator Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, and activist Miguel Duarte, a fourth Portuguese national on the flotilla, Diogo Chaves, was also detained by Israel, as announced today by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the crews were taken to the port of Ashdod and held in specific detention centers, where they can either accept immediate voluntary expulsion or refuse and await judicial proceedings.
On September 16, Israel launched a major ground offensive against the city of Gaza, claiming it was to eliminate the last ‘stronghold’ of the Palestinian extremist group.
The military invasion has forced more than a million people to move south from the Gaza Strip and has resulted in numerous daily fatalities in the city, most of whom are civilians. This conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 66,000 Palestinians, including women and children, according to Hamas figures.
