Palestine obtains the status of a sister country of ALBA-TCP

At the XXIV Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), which took place this Saturday in Caracas, Venezuela, Palestine was unanimously incorporated as a permanent member, adopting the status of a sister country.

The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced the decision and, addressing the Palestinian representative, Riad al-Maliki, expressed his intention to hold a future summit of the regional alliance “with the Palestinian people” in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian representative thanked the invitation and the show of solidarity of ALBA-TCP, which has repeatedly condemned Israeli violence.  He described the Palestinian conflict as a struggle for justice and freedom of a territory subjected to the usurpation of resources and illegal occupation for decades.

Maduro agreed with al-Maliki, stating that the Palestinian cause is the most just and that human rights must be defended in the occupied territories.  "History will remember those who stood on the side of justice."

The Venezuelan president also denounced the inaction of international organizations, such as the International Court of Justice, in the face of the more than 45,000 Palestinian civilians who have died due to Israeli attacks.

The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, spoke during the day, reiterating his solidarity with Palestine.  As an example of this, he mentioned that several Palestinian citizens are training as professionals in Cuba in areas such as medicine, foreign languages, and journalism, among others.