Former secretary of the Bolsonaro government says that Israel does not prevent Brazilians from leaving the Gaza Strip

2023-10-15 22:15:37

Fabio Wajngarten spoke with Ambassador Daniel Zanshine about the situation of Brazilians who are in the Gaza Strip waiting to be repatriated

Disclosure/Federal Government/Family Archive Brazilians in Gaza were hosted to await the release of the border with Egypt, where repatriation will take place

Fabio Wajngartenformer government secretary Jair Bolsonarospoke with the ambassador of Israel No brazil, Daniel Zonshinethis Sunday, the 15th, about the situation of Brazilians who are in Gaza Strip, and said that there is no impediment on the Israeli side to the immediate removal of these people awaiting the opening of the border to be repatriated. “There are no impediments on the Israeli side for their immediate departure,” wrote Wajngarten on his X account (formerly Twitter). The information comes after it was reported on Saturday that Israel had not yet given the correct signal for Brazilians to cross the Rafah border. Currently, according to a note from Itamarary, a group of 28 Brazilians awaiting withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is concentrated in the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, close to the border with Egypt.

The Brazilian government, through the Brazilian Representative Office in Ramallah, remains in contact with the group. Vehicles hired by Itamaraty remain on standby, awaiting the opening of the Rafah crossing. Since Friday the 13th, the plane has been in Rome, Italy, where it is awaiting authorization to go to Egypt. The intention is for Brazilians to leave the Gaza Strip to the Egyptian border on a bus hired by the Brazilian Embassy, ​​using the Rafah crossing. On Saturday, the 14th, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spoke with the presidents of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority to speed up the process. He assured the Egyptian leader that Brazilians who cross the border do not intend to continue in the region: they will get on the plane and leave for Brazil on the aircraft that is already waiting for them.

I recently spoke with the Israeli Ambassador to Brazil Daniel Zonshine about the Brazilians who are in Gaza on the border.
There are no impediments on the Israeli side for their immediate departure.

— Fabio Wajngarten (@fabiowoficial) October 15, 2023

For the crossing to take place, the approval of the Palestinian, Egyptian and Israeli authorities must be obtained. Lula told Sisi that as soon as the 28 cross the Rafah crossing, they will be accompanied by the Brazilian ambassador to Egypt, Paulino Franco de Carvalho Neto, to Arish Airport, where they will board immediately. Operation Returning in Peace, which has been carried out by the Brazilian government since last week, has already repatriated 916 people. The fifth flight landed around 2 am this Sunday, the 15th, with another 215 Brazilians. The conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7, has already resulted in more than 4,000 deaths. The report from Young pan contacted the ambassador’s office to confirm the conversation between Wajngarten and Zonshine, but did not receive a response until the publication of this article.