Sánchez: “The Flotilla does not represent a threat to Israel, and neither should Israel represent a threat to the Flotilla”

Eduardo González The Pesident of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, declared this Wednesday from Copenhagen that “the Flotilla does not represent a threat to Israel” and, therefore, “Israel should not represent a threat to the Flotilla.” “We must remember that this is a humanitarian mission that would not have taken place if the Government of Israel had allowed the entry of UNRWA and the distribution of this humanitarian aid by the United Nations,” declared the Prime Minister upon his arrival at the informal meeting of heads of state and government, held within the framework of the Danish Presidency of the EU Council. “I have conveyed from the very beginning to the Government of Israel that, logically, the nationals, those compatriots who are on the flotillas, will enjoy full diplomatic protection, as is only natural,” he stated. "We are talking about more than a thousand people" who "do not represent a danger or threat to Israel, and therefore, I hope that Israel, in this case the government of (Benjamin) Netanyahu, does not represent any threat to this Flotilla either," he concluded. "We have sent a frigate to be able, from a humanitarian and rescue perspective, to assist the members of the Flotilla," he continued. The Government has been "in contact" with the members of the Flotilla and "with other countries that have members of their societies in these flotillas," he added. Sánchez made these statements hours after the Government "strongly" recommended that the Global Flotilla "Sumud" not enter the exclusion zone designated by the Israeli Army, because it "would severely risk its own security," and warned that the Navy ship "Furor," sent by Spain to assist the humanitarian mission, would not be able to access that area because it "would put the physical integrity of its crew and the Flotilla itself at risk." These words have been harshly criticized by Sumar, a minority partner in Pedro Sánchez's coalition government, which warned on social media that "the Freedom Flotilla complies with international law and must complete its humanitarian mission in Gaza" and, therefore, "any attempt to prevent it would be illegal, which is why Spain and the EU have an obligation to protect it." For its part, the Flotilla's press office has harshly criticized these government recommendations. "While the Israeli Navy announces that it will impose a 120-nautical-mile exclusion zone, a de facto occupation of the eastern Mediterranean, the government simply asks the crew of the Global Sumud Flotilla to abandon their mission and refuses to offer them the necessary protection to reach Gaza via a frigate whose actual distance from the Flotilla is unknown." In this regard, Defense Minister Margarita Robles asked the members of the Flotilla on Wednesday to assess the risk they take by entering the exclusion zone marked by Israel. "It's their responsibility, the risk they take personally, the risk they may put other people in," he told the press during an event in Barcelona. He also insisted that the Spanish vessel 'Furor' "will reach the exclusion zone and stay a little before reaching it," and will not enter it except "in cases of absolute necessity, if there are rescue operations."

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