Cuba Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

Havana, Sept 23 (ACN) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called at the United Nations for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where over 40 thousand civilians have been murdered since the beginning, last October, of the Israeli aggression against that territory.

Addressing the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) underway as part of the high-level segment of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the Cuban Foreign Minister condemned the hindrance of access to basic services by the civilian population in the Palestinian territory, which he dubbed as a flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law.

Rodriguez denounced the destruction by the Israeli offensive of a large part of the housing stock, hospitals and civil infrastructure; he said the action caused internal displacement of over 1.9 million people.
The protection of the civilian population is a priority, Rodriguez stressed and called to to guarantee the handing to the Palestinian people of humanitarian aid.

The Cuban government official said that NAM must insist in demanding a far-reaching, fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the setting up two states, allowing the Palestinian people to enjoy their right to free determination and to have an independent and sovereign state within the borders prior to 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital city, and guaranteeing the return of the refugees and the displaced.

Cuba will contribute as much as possible to the legitimate international efforts to put an end to genocide, and consequently will participate as Third State in South Africa’s demand against Israel at the International Justice Court, Rodriguez pointed out. lc