Cuba has condemned the killing of 18 Palestinians, by Israeli forces, in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Israeli media reported that the army was ordered to open fire on Palestinian protesters.
“This brutal act constitutes a grave and flagrant violation of the United Nations (UN) Charter and international humanitarian law, and aggravates tensions in the region,” Emilio Lozada, director of bilateral affairs in the Cuban Foreign Ministry, said.
In the release, Lozada added that Havana “expressed the strongest condemnation to the new and criminal aggression of the Israeli Army against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
#CUBA: The Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday, strongly repudiated the new escalation of violence by Israel in the Strip of Gaza, a place in which left at least 17 dead and 1,400 injured people last Friday. pic.twitter.com/RC45Z97koT
— CaribbeanNewsNetwork (@caribbeannewsuk) April 4, 2018
The minister highlighted the importance of finding a “comprehensive, just and lasting” solution to the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
Lozada explained that the killing of the Palestinians has significantly damaged the possibility of “any effort aimed at resuming peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.”
He also called on international organizations and community as well as the UN Security Council, to demand an “immediate end of Israel’s aggression” and “expansionist and colonizing policies.”
#Cuba express the strongest condemnation of the new and criminal aggression by the Israeli Army against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, which has killed 17 people since last March 30 and left more than 1,400 injured. https://t.co/KYP2hAr3VS pic.twitter.com/M4oNJM0ZaD
— EmbassyCuba_in_ZA (@EmbassyCubaZA) April 3, 2018
Over 1,600 people were injured in the attack.
“We express our solidarity with the Palestinian government and people and reiterate our firm position of support for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the conflict,” Lozada added.
We are publishing newspaper ads in Israel captioned “Sorry Commander, I cannot shoot” clarifying to soldiers that they must refuse to open fire on unarmed demonstrators in Gaza. This unusual step is following Friday’s events, when soldiers used live fire & killed 12 Palestinians pic.twitter.com/NMxHJ5jyru
— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) April 4, 2018
Lozada said Cuba is an advocate for a two-state resolution, reiterating that Palestinians had the right to an independent and sovereign country with its capital in Western Jerusalem and within borders which were previously outlined in 1967.
(teleSUR, PC, Social Media)
