Palestinian envoy ‘alarmed’ at growing T&T-Israel ties

The Palestinian Ambassador to Caricom and Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Linda Sobeh Ali, has voiced significant alarm regarding the increasing engagement between Trinidad and Tobago and Israel. She stated her concerns during a virtual news conference, responding to questions about recent diplomatic interactions, including a meeting between Israeli representatives and the Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs.

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We are concerned, and I have the faith that the Trinidad and Tobago government knows and understands that it’s not a conflict, it’s an ongoing occupation, it’s ongoing genocide, it’s ongoing humiliation, it’s ongoing land grab, it’s ongoing annexation, it’s ongoing illegal settlement, it’s ongoing burning people alive.

Ambassador Sobeh Ali articulated Palestine's deep unease, describing the situation with Israel not as a conflict but as an ongoing occupation, genocide, humiliation, land grab, annexation, and illegal settlement. She noted that seeing Israel's expanding diplomatic presence in the Caribbean, symbolized by signs in Hebrew indicating private property, evokes painful memories of similar experiences in her homeland.

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Are we alarmed to see Israel in the Caribbean? Yes, we are. Are we alarmed when someone sends me signs written in Hebrew saying private property? It just brings to my brain when we received them in our country, in our homes.

Despite her expressed alarm, Ambassador Sobeh Ali conveyed confidence in the Trinidad and Tobago government's commitment to Palestine. She emphasized respect for Trinidad and Tobago's sovereignty and its right to shape its foreign policy. The ambassador reiterated Palestine's belief that the government will continue to uphold international law and does not anticipate actions like the opening of an embassy in Jerusalem, which Palestine considers occupied territory. She also appealed for continued regional support for humanitarian access and a two-state solution.

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Madam Prime Minister, with all due respect, I come to you and I ask you as a mother, as a woman to woman, as a diplomat to diplomat, as a human to human,