Borough of Vila Franca de Xira in solidarity with Palestine

The Borough Assembly of Vila Franca de Xira passed a motion of solidarity with the Palestinian people that demands the release of Palestinian political prisoners from Israeli jails, the end of the blockade of Gaza Strip, the realization of the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state and that the Portuguese Government condemns unequivocally the attacks perpetrated by the State of Israel.

The motion was approved with 11 votes in favour, being 5 from CDU (Democratic Unit Coalition of the Communist Party and the Green Party), 5 from the Socialist Party and 1 from the Left Block, and 2 votes against from a coalition of Social Democratic Party, Land Party Movement and Popular Monarchic Party.

MOTION

IN DEFENCE OF PEACE IN PALESTINE - END OF THE AGGRESSION

For decades the people of Palestine have been permanently massacred by the State of Israel. This State, against all the decisions of the UN, still does not recognise the Palestinian State as an autonomous state. The assassinations, the illegal occupation of land and its annexation, the imposition of settlements, the embargo, place the Palestinian people in the most difficult and daily situations, which they heroically resist!

At the beginning of this month, with another illegal occupation of a Palestinian Quarter, in Palestinian territory, we all witnessed a new escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip.

Contrary to what they want us to think, what is happening there is not a conflict between Israel and Palestine, but rather a violent illegal occupation, which violates the most basic human rights and the rights of Palestine and its people.

In this escalation of aggression, Israel is attacking Palestinian territory on a daily basis, killing dozens of people, including children, destroying schools, places of worship and health care facilities, and creating a permanent climate of terror for the Palestinian people. What is happening in Palestine is an attempt by the State of Israel to annex Palestinian territory.

The violence that we have seen in recent days cannot be dissociated from the support of the United States of America, which has reached new heights under the Trump administration, and is now confirmed by Biden, who has reaffirmed the illegal decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Nor of the connivance of the European Union, which, despite affirming its support for the two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states, is contributing by its action and omission to the worsening of Israel's policy of occupation and colonisation, which aims to prevent the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people from being put into practice.

The Portuguese Government must take a clear and forceful stand, particularly when it holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, in defence of the national rights of the Palestinian people and compliance with the UN resolutions that enshrine them.

As 15 May marks the 73rd anniversary of the Naqba - which accompanied the proclamation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and their land - we reaffirm our principled solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just struggle against the occupation and for their national rights, which are internationally recognised but have not been implemented.

Thus, the elected representatives of the CDU propose in the Vila Franca de Xira BoroughAssembly, meeting on June 15, 2021, that it deliberates:

1. To call for solidarity with the Palestinian People;

2. Demand the release of Palestinian political prisoners from Israeli jails;

3. Demand the end of the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the realization of the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state with the 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as the Capital of both States;

4. To demand that the Portuguese Government, in respect for the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and for the deliberation of the Assembly of the Republic recognizing the Palestinian people's right to build a Palestinian state, condemn unequivocally the attacks perpetrated by the State of Israel.

5. Send this motion to the Embassy of Israel, Embassy of Palestine, President of the Republic, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, President of the Assembly of the Republic, Parliamentary Groups of the Assembly of the Republic, General Confederation of Portuguese Workers, General Workers’ Union, Movement for the Rights of the Palestinian People and for Peace in the Middle East, Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation.

Vila Franca de Xira, June 15, 2021

The CDU Elected Members at the Vila Franca de Xira Borough Council