“With terrorist attacks, which the Israeli Prime Minister highlighted, is disastrous for Israelis and Palestinians,” SYRIZA president Stefanos Kasselakis said in a statement, adding that Greece must host refugees.
His statement:
“In these difficult times, our thoughts are with the people of Israel and Palestine.
The entire international community must support the message of the UN Secretary-General, who urges all sides to exercise maximum restraint and protect civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law while supporting, at the same time, every possible diplomatic effort to avoid a wider conflagration.
“The logic of ‘revenge’, regardless of civilian casualties, in dealing with terrorist attacks, which the Israeli Prime Minister highlighted, is disastrous for Israelis and Palestinians.
“In this context, concerted international efforts must be made for a ceasefire to restart talks for a peaceful two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.
The totally reprehensible attack by Hamas has brutally damaged the security of Israelis and Palestinians, and with it, this prospect of restarting talks.
“Heinous acts by Hamas have come to light and should be investigated as war crimes.
“The prospect of a peaceful coexistence of the two states had been systematically undermined in the previous period by the illegal Israeli settlements, the continued occupation of Palestinian territories, and the escalating tension and attacks against Palestinian civilians, with great responsibilities of the Israeli state.
“In this context, the Greek Government must take the initiative to support the victims of the war, offering care to Palestinian and Israeli wounded in Greek hospitals and coordinating the accommodation of families who leave their homes.
“At the same time, it must make every possible effort for peace and stability in the region on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions, as well as stand against war crimes regardless of who commits them.”
The opposition leaders calls for Greece to host refugees come after videos emerged of Hamas supporters on the Greek island of Samos and Kos chanted “Allahu Akbar”, Arabic for “God is Great”, after Saturday mornings disturbing slaughter of Israeli and foreigners.
See the video:
Yesterday morning, videos emerged of Palestinian & other Muslim illegal immigrants in a refugee camp on the Greek island of Samos chanting Allahu Akbar following Hamas' attack on Israel.
Here are more chants of Allahu Akbar in Greece, this time last night in a Kos refugee centre https://t.co/csruIzgD7y pic.twitter.com/LoHEAgSQum
— Paul Antonopoulos 🇬🇷🇨🇾 (@oulosP) October 8, 2023
Elsewhere, Kasselakis stressed the need to renew the party in order to strengthen its foundations in the social fabric, following the outcome of the local elections.
“Today was a first message about the need for our country to have a new large progressive party that can govern the country,” he underlined.
“As of tomorrow we are building the new progressive party. Our party is open to all citizens who want to contribute. SYRIZA did not have a large presence in the social fabric of the country,” Kasselakis stated.
“One of the responsibilities that I personally assume is to build this presence in the social fabric in the coming years. As of tomorrow we are starting the great renewal and the great revitalization of our human potential, which constitutes an urgent need,” the opposition leader added.
He also referred to the Greeks who are in Israel: “My thoughts are with the Greeks who are being transferred from Israel to their homeland and with those who will be transferred in the next few hours.”
“We are in contact with the foreign ministry to receive information on the matter and we thank them for their cooperation,” he noted.
UN Security Council members condemn Hamas for Israel attack, but not unanimously
Numerous members of the UN Security Council denounced the Hamas terror group on Sunday over its massive assault on Israel but the United States regretted a lack of unanimity.
At an emergency session, the United States urged strong condemnation of the Palestinian Islamists, who rule the blockaded Gaza Strip and launched a surprise assault on Saturday that killed at least 700 people and wounded over 2,000.
“There are a good number of countries that condemned the Hamas attacks. They’re obviously not all,” senior US diplomat Robert Wood told reporters after the closed-door session.
“You could probably figure out one of them without me saying anything,” said Wood, in a clear allusion to Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated sharply since its invasion of Ukraine.
Diplomats said the Security Council did not consider any joint statement, let alone a binding resolution, with members led by Russia hoping for a broader focus than condemning Hamas.
“My message was to stop the fighting immediately and to go to a ceasefire and to meaningful negotiations, which was told for decades” by the Security Council, said Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations.
“This is partly the result of unresolved issues,” he said.
China, generally Russia’s ally at the Security Council, said it would support a joint statement.
“It’s abnormal that the Security Council doesn’t say anything,” said Ambassador Zhang Jun, who earlier promised Chinese support for a condemnation of “all attacks against civilians.”
Ahead of the session, Israel’s ambassador, Gilad Erdan, showed graphic pictures of Israeli civilians being taken captive by Hamas.
“These are war crimes — blatant, documented war crimes,” Erdan told reporters outside of the Security Council.
“This unimaginable — unimaginable — atrocity must be condemned” by the Security Council, he said.
“Israel must be given steadfast support to defend ourselves — to defend the free world.”
