Senator Gerardo Fernández Noroña reported that tomorrow he will request leave from office to visit Palestine, and perhaps Gaza, from October 24 to November 2.
Asked if he plans to go to Gaza, he responded: “The truth is that it would be reckless, but if the Palestinian authority plans a visit to Gaza, I will do it. Everything that the Palestinian authority organized, I am going to cover…
Regarding whether he is afraid for his safety, he said no.
“No fear. Yes, it is a dangerous journey, I am not a hero, I am not a martyr, I love life, I have many things to do in the country, but I must not be ignored in the face of the terrible genocide that is happening to the Palestinian people.”
During the press conference in which he reported the reasons for his license request, he assured that he is not afraid of US retaliationwhose government considers anyone who supports Palestine a terrorist.
“The worst thing that could happen to me is that they take away my visa; no.
He recounted the current situation in Palestine:
“President Donald Trump announced a peace plan, the people returned with great enthusiasm, they were deceived again; they are bombing them, they are murdering them, they are murdering boys and girls.
“There’s not much I can do, but I shouldn’t sit idly by, it would be cowardice… The video of a girl telling me to help, to save them weighed heavily on me; I can’t, I wish I could, but whatever I can do I will do. And that trip is important, it contributes, it sheds light on the issue.”
He announced that he will make live broadcasts about the situation they are experiencing in Palestine.
“I’m going to visit the Palestinian authorities, meetings are scheduled with members of the government of the Palestinian people, I’m going to visit settlements in Palestine. I’m going to have, beforehand, the Arab Emirates was very generous, providing the airfare with their airline, I have a first meeting in the United Arab Emirates and I also have a couple of meetings scheduled in Jordanbut most of the time it is on tours in Palestine, the situation that the Palestinian people are experiencing.
Because of the solidarity he has had with Palestine, he said, the United Arab Emirates will pay for his plane ticket.
He could not request leave from the position, he said, but it is the right thing to do because “travel is not compatible with attending Senate sessions.”
Regarding the trip, he explained that since he was president of the Board of Directors he had been invited, but that he had simply delayed it.
“In August I was about to make the trip and I had to postpone it… Now, given that the ceasefire has not been fulfilled, given that the genocide of the Palestinian people continues, given that the blockade of food aid and that the situation is very serious, we scheduled the trip and I will do it on these dates.”
