“Greece pursues an active policy, and it will do the same in the UN Security Council,” said Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis on Friday. He was replying to a question asked in Parliament by Plefsi Eleftherias leader Zoi Konstantopoulou about the role that Greece will play, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, in the face of the genocide of Palestinians by the State of Israel.

The foreign minister emphasised that “the standing position of the Greek government and the Greek state is the recognition of the Palestinian state, which should be the vision for the resolution of the long-term conflict in the Middle East”. Gerapetritis said that “Greece will always be at the forefront of initiatives, consistently, with faith in International Law, without absolutely any concessions”.

Referring to Greece’s role as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, he said that “our intention is to assume active initiatives.” He announced that he will soon be visiting Israel and Palestine again. “We are making every effort so that Greece actively contributes to the immediate cessation of any hostilities. To finally be able to undertake humanitarian protection in the Gaza Strip and contribute to its reconstruction,” he said.

As regards the efforts for a peaceful resolution of the Middle East problem and for an immediate ceasefire, Gerapetritis said that “Greece has organised a series of initiatives at many levels”.

In the context of the EU, the minister said that Greece has undertaken a series of initiatives, which are related to the direct linking of the Arab World with the EU, to a strengthening of the institutions of the Palestinian Authority so that it take control in Palestine and to provide relief for Palestinian children, who are currently suffering in the Gaza Strip. Gerapetritis informed Parliament that “an important action is underway at the initiative of Greece,” which concerned both the reception of Palestinian children with health problems – both physical and mental – as well as missions to the Gaza Strip to establish conditions for immediate medical intervention for children. “That’s why we are cooperating with both UNICEF and also with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and with NGOs,” he added. 

At the same time, Gerapetritis also referred to the initiatives taken by Greece at the regional level to upgrade humanitarian aid and for an immediate ceasefire. “In the last weeks we have visited Lebanon, Egypt while on Monday we will be in Saudi Arabia. We will have meetings where we will discuss the situation in the Middle East and how the hostilities must stop immediately,” he said. In this context, he added, “in the immediate future I will visit Israel and Palestine again. We are making every effort so that Greece actively contributes to the immediate cessation of any hostilities and finally to be able to undertake humanitarian protection in the Gaza Strip and contribute to its reconstruction.” 

Gerapetritis called the election of a president in Lebanon “a positive sign”, as it leads “to a relative normalisation”. He observed that “the wider region of the Middle East is particularly fluid, after what is happening in Syria as well. Greece, however, will remain in the foreground with absolute respect for International Law, without any trade offs and without making any concessions regarding humanitarian law.”