During a campaign event for municipal elections in Quinta do Cabrinha, Lisbon, Rui Tavares stated the necessity of determining whether the detentions occurred in international waters, which would render them “clearly illegal and unjustifiable.”
The deputy highlighted the release of an Italian Green MEP, suggesting it resulted from intensified diplomatic pressure from European and member state authorities.
The legal team supporting the Global Sumud Flotilla announced that the 473 crew members detained by Israeli naval forces, which include four Portuguese nationals such as Bloco de Esquerda leader Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, and activists Miguel Duarte and Diogo Chaves, have been transferred to a prison in the Negev desert, southern Israel.
Rui Tavares emphasized that Portugal recognizes the State of Palestine with 1967 borders, thus viewing the waters off the Gaza Strip as Palestinian territorial waters, not Israeli.
He argued that recognizing a state involves acknowledging “a war between two states, rather than a state and an occupied territory,” comparing it to the situation between Russia and Ukraine, where “an aggressive state confronts an attacked state.”
Urging a consistent approach toward Israel and Palestine and emphasizing the need for coherence in international law, Tavares criticized the “exceptional circumstance” of the Foreign Affairs and Defense ministers failing to coordinate.
Nuno Melo had been previously suggested for resignation due to revelations “following months of delay” that highly lethal F-35 fighter jets had been stationed at Lajes Air Base in the Azores.
A Thursday statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Paulo Rangel, disclosed that three U.S. aircraft made a stopover at the Azorean base en route to Israel without prior notice to the Portuguese government, a “procedural lapse” for which the foreign minister seeks accountability.
The statement noted the operation had “tacit communication and approval” following a favorable opinion from the AAN (National Aeronautical Authority), which reports to the Ministry of National Defense under Nuno Melo.
Describing the situation as “of great severity,” Rui Tavares insisted Nuno Melo “owes explanations,” indicating that Livre, alongside “other parties certainly,” intends to summon the minister before the Assembly of the Republic.
The Lajes Air Base, located in the Azores archipelago, is used militarily by the United States under a bilateral cooperation agreement.
