J. Lamet Madrid

Madrid

Updated Saturday, February 17, 2024-15:01

  • Yolanda Díaz Government organizes a trip to Palestine without counting on Foreign Affairs

The PSOE has crossed the border of commitment to the Palestinian cause. Today, for the first time, a socialist minister has spoken out against the Gaza massacre and explicitly in favor of the rights of the inhabitants of both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It was Óscar Puente who broke that taboo. This Sunday, the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility joined the march for the "freedom of Palestine", and he did so not only in his personal capacity or as a socialist leader, but explicitly in his capacity as minister. This is how he himself has taken it upon himself to reiterate it to the media.


The minister has called for "an immediate ceasefire" as the first measure to achieve peace in Palestine. "We have to ensure that the deaths and attacks on innocent people stop, we have to achieve the release of all the hostages and we have to achieve that a dialogue process is opened through a conference in which an agreement is reached so that Israel and Palestine can live in peace," he emphasized.

Under the slogan "Freedom for Palestine. No to impunity, end to the massacre", thousands of people have protested in Madrid against the massacre in Gaza, in a march that began in Atocha and went to Puerta del Sol. The organizers demand the effective recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state that can "freely" decide its future, as well as compliance with international law in the area, not only to stop what they consider a "genocide", but also to provide a solution. fair to the "refugees".

The second vice president of the Government and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, also attended the event, along with the ministers of Sumar: Sira Rego (Youth and Children), Pablo Bustinduy (Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030), Ernest Urtasun (Culture) and Mónica García (Health).

The representation of Podemos has been led by its general secretary, Ione Belarra, who has harshly attacked the PSOE. The former minister has denounced a "make-up operation" by the socialists with respect to their position on the war in Gaza and has demanded that the Government put an end to the sale of weapons to Israel so as not to continue being "complicit" in the "genocide" of the Palestinian people, according to Europa Press.

Puente responded that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made it clear that "since October, Spain has not sold ammunition or weapons to Israel." Furthermore, he has criticized Podemos for doing a "disservice" to the Palestinian cause by "introducing elements of distortion and conflict." "We have to be all together and united with a single voice," she added.

The five ministers of Sumar, with Yolanda Díaz at the head, in the demonstration.Fernando VillarEFE

Puente has not been the only socialist who has joined the march. Next to him was the national deputy Hana Jalloul, secretary of International Policy and Development Cooperation of the PSOE. The minister wanted to emphasize that he was coming on behalf of the Executive because it is a "necessary" demand. And he has defended that in the Council of Ministers there is unity of action regarding this conflict.

But the truth is that Yolanda Díaz does not agree with that and asks for greater involvement from the PSOE. The vice president has been very clear: "We call for an immediate ceasefire now. We do it with the strength we have, we demand that the international community do more and we also urge that the Government of Spain also commit more."

The Minister of Labor has also demanded a plan to "sanction Israel, as we have done in identical situations with the rest of the countries in the world." Asked if she would keep her trip to Palestine, after the Foreign Ministry's anger for not having previously agreed to it, Díaz decided that "it was processed the same" as the trip she will make next week to Washington.

But, yes, he wanted to leave this controversy aside from the pro-Palestinian march: "What is important today are the Palestinians. They have murdered more than 27,000 people and I would beg all public officials in the country to focus on defending today international legality and above all to stop barbarism. Let's leave other issues behind, I really believe that Palestine does not deserve this."