The Cuban President has strongly condemned Israel’s genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip and blamed Israel and the United States for 75 years of occupation and violating the “inalienable” rights of the Palestinians.
In his statements to national television On Saturday, Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed his country’s strong condemnation of the genocide, and the destruction of homes, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure perpetrated by the Israeli forces in Palestinian land.
“We will not accept any selective indignation that seeks to ignore the danger of the genocide that is being perpetrated against the Palestinians, portray the Israeli side as the victim, and ignore 75 years of aggression, occupation, violations, and exclusion,” he said.
“We reject the killing of innocent people as a result of the current escalation and fierce and indiscriminate aggression, without distinction of race, origin, gender, or belief,” Diaz-Canel stressed.
He described Israel’s bloodshed in Gaza as “unjustifiable” and in “serious violation” of humanitarian and international laws.
“Israel violates all United Nations resolutions and all commitments imposed on it as an occupying power as stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Convention,” he said, adding, “The Security Council was unable to call on Israel to stop the ongoing massacre, as the United States used the veto right.”
“The United States is the historical accomplice of ‘Zionist barbarism,’” he added.
JUST NOW: Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemns Israel & the United States for waging 75 years of genocide & occupation of Palestine. Cuba stands with the Palestinian people & says that the only solution can come from Palestine’s right to exercise its self-determination. pic.twitter.com/ecslssOiga
— Manolo De Los Santos (@manolo_realengo) October 29, 2023
“The comprehensive, just, and permanent solution to the conflict undoubtedly requires the real exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of their independent and sovereign state within the borders of pre-1967, with its capital in East al-Quds,” the Cuban President highlighted.
He also confirmed that a group of countries, including Cuba, proposed a draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly, which was recently approved, demanding an immediate ceasefire, the establishment of an urgent mechanism to protect Palestinian civilians, rejecting the displacement of civilians and human rights defenders, and the provision of emergency humanitarian aid.
“Every moment of procrastination and passivity will cost the loss of more innocent lives, and action must be taken immediately,” he warned.
The current escalation of violence began in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched Operation al-Aqsa Strom in reaction to years of violence against Palestinians on October 7. Israel responded with carpet bombing of the civilian targets in the besieged enclave, cutting the civilian population’s access to food, water, fuel, and emergency medical services.
The death toll since the start of the Israeli carnage has surpassed 8,000 with upwards of 20,500 Palestinians wounded. A staggering 70 percent of casualties in Gaza are children, women, and the elderly.
To date, the UN Security Council has failed to reach an agreement on four different resolutions calling for a ceasefire, or shorter humanitarian pause.
The ongoing Israeli offensive has pushed the Gaza Strip to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians enduring immense suffering and loss.
