The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly called for an end to the economic, commercial
and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. Only two
countries – the USA itself and Israel voted against this global call – and only one abstained –
Ukraine. 187 countries voted in favour.
The US blockade against Cuba, imposed in the 1960s, was worsened during the recent
pandemic by the Trump administration, proving – to anyone who still had doubts – the

Around 800 people, including representatives from around 100 organisations, coming from
North to South of mainland Portugal, headed to Vila Nova de Gaia to participate in what was
a great Meeting for Peace.
With the situation in Palestine rightly concentrating much of the attention (the Palestinian
scarves worn by the participants were by the dozens), it reaffirmed the urgency of putting an
immediate end to the massacre that Israel is carrying out in the Gaza Strip, stopping the

Following the eight actions between October 11 and 29, promoted by the Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation (CPPC), the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP-IN) and the Movement for the Rights of the Palestinian People and for Peace in the Middle East (MPPM), nine other actions were held in Portugal, mobilizing thousands of people in various cities throughout the country, demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian territories occupied by Israel and in defense of the national rights of the Palestinian people.

The World Peace Council condemns the barbarities of the Israeli occupation state and the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, the mass killing of the Palestinian people and the destruction of Palestinian towns and villages.

The WPC member organizations participating in the massive popular demonstrations across the globe express their undivided solidarity with the tortured people of Palestine and their righteous struggle demanding the end of the Israeli slaughter and deadly siege of the Gaza Strip that results thousands of dead and among them thousands of dead children and civilians.

Wave upon wave of Israeli aircraft and missiles have been battering the Palestinian
population in the Gaza Strip. This violence — the most brutal for decades — has
already expended more firepower than the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and has already
taken more lives of civilians in a week than have died in Ukraine. It is as if the Israeli
government — backed fully by the United States — wants to turn Gaza into a ruin so
as to remove the Palestinians in another act of ethnic cleansing, mimicking the Nakba
(Catastrophe) of 1948.

The Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation expresses its deep concern about the dramatic worsening of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people, expresses solidarity with the populations who are victims of violence and destruction and calls for immediate and effective initiatives in favour of peace, in compliance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations that advocate the materialisation of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people.

The Swiss Peace Movement expresses its solidarity with the civilian population of Palestine and Israel and calls for a quick end to the fighting. The Palestine-Israel conflict cannot be resolved by force. In the current situation, an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations between all parties of the conflict are needed. However, we emphasize that the ultimate responsibility for the violence lies with the disproportionately powerful Israeli apartheid regime, which has oppressed and discriminated against the Palestinian people for decades.

Pages

Subscribe to World Peace Council RSS