Solidarity makes us secure in peace, says Palestinian ambassador

Demonstrations in support of Palestine took over the second edition of the Red Festival that took place in Salvador, on Friday (22/03) and Saturday (23), and which was attended by the Palestinian ambassador to Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben. The defense was not only in the debates about the genocide promoted by Israel, but also in cultural acts, so that the Palestinian flag became a prominent element in the event.

The support moved the ambassador, who said he was flattered by so many demonstrations. For Ibrahim Alzeben, all the solidarity that the Palestinian people have been receiving brings security that “peace will arrive, sovereignty will arrive and so will the Palestinian State”, as he said in an exclusive interview with Portal Vermelho, during the Festival.

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Alzeben also assessed the situation in the Gaza Strip, since the events of October 7 last year, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, and pointed the way to peace in this Middle Eastern territory. Check out the full interview below:

How do you assess the situation in Palestine after the events of October 7th?

Ibrahim Alzeben – The Palestinian people are suffering a massacre, yet another genocide, which began in 1917 and continues to this day. We have here, in this case, two sides: first, the suffering, the human losses, the loss of goods, this unnecessary suffering, and, on the other hand, seeing that we are not alone, that the whole world, the people in the whole world they are standing up and asking, as President Lula said, “Enough, enough with genocide, enough with forgetting to do justice in Palestine”. We have been waiting for justice since 1917 until today, and that justice will come. When we see so many voices of solidarity, we feel satisfied and sure that peace will arrive, sovereignty will arrive and so will the Palestinian State.

Israel is isolated. Can this be assessed as a result of so many demonstrations of solidarity around the world, like the one happening here in Bahia?

Ibrahim Alzeben – Firstly, the genocide that Israel commits, turning its back on all these manifestations of solidarity, on all UN resolutions. Thus, solidarity is important, but Israel is isolated by its own genocidal attitude against the Palestinian people and by its denial of international law. And he will continue to be isolated. We hope this is the end of the occupation, the end of the suffering of our people.

Is the solution the creation of two states?

Ibrahim Alzeben – There is no other way. Peace is made between enemies. Israel occupies, Israel denies recognition of the State of Palestine, therefore, the path is to recognize the Palestinian state. We are a state recognized by 143 countries in the world and it is time for this state to be fully recognized in the United Nations, to establish itself on the ground, to end this Israeli occupation of the territory. We consider that the solution begins, in the general conflict, with the creation of two states for two peoples, as was foreseen in that partition resolution in 1945.

What has your experience been like at the Red Festival?

Ibrahim Alzeben – It is a space that we are very grateful for, firstly, this invitation to be able to live with supportive people, full of feelings, because solidarity is the noblest human feeling. Here, we feel at ease. The Palestinian people do not feel alone when they see so many manifestations of solidarity, of affection, of following the news, of valuing their human feelings. We feel at home here, among friends. [Estou] Really, very pleased, moved, when I saw this flag [da Palestina] huge passing through the entire auditorium, including other people with other flags. Indeed, one feels that one is accompanied, that, no matter how much the enemy tries to cover up and try to nullify the Palestinian issue, the Palestinian people, when they see a huge Palestinian flag thousands and thousands of kilometers away, the world still exists humanity. Thank you very much. A thousand thanks to the Brazilian people, to this Red Festival, which represents the committed human feeling of the Brazilian people.