Collboni reacts to Israel's veto: "The important thing is that aid enters Gaza now"

Amman, JordanThe mayor of Barcelona, ​​​​Jaume Collboni, reacted this Monday to the Israeli veto, which on Friday prevented him from entering the country "without justification." "Israel's veto of the mayor of Barcelona is anecdotal. What is cruelly serious is that at this moment there are more than 6,000 trucks that cannot bring food and medicine into the Gaza Strip," he said from a warehouse of UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee agency, in the capital.

Collboni traveled to Amman after Israeli authorities will revoke his visa this Friday., when he was scheduled to fly to Tel Aviv as part of an institutional trip to meet with the mayors of Ramallah and Bethlehem, in support of the Palestinian people. Accompanied by the second deputy mayor, Maria Eugenia Gay, Collboni kept part of his agenda and met with the director of programs for UNRWA, Olaf Becker.

"We didn't think we would be so important," Collboni said in reference to Israel's reaction, which stated that the actions of the Barcelona city council—as now the decision to cut relations with Israel and break relations with Tel Aviv– "have consequences." This demonstrates, in Collboni's opinion, the importance of Barcelona's commitment and position on conflicts around the world.

Collboni reiterated that the main objective of the trip, which was to take him to Palestine in the context of the "cruel" massacre that Israel is perpetrating in Gaza, was to "promote and guarantee" humanitarian aid to the Palestinians suffering the siege of the Gaza Strip. "The Israeli government's position only reinforces the importance of the messages we send from Barcelona and the concrete aid measures we are developing," he added.

The mayor of Barcelona also expressed his gratitude for the expressions of support he has received in recent days, including messages from the mayors of Bethlehem and Ramallah. He especially highlighted the letter of thanks that the mayor of Gaza City, Yahya R. Sarraj, sent him on Sunday. He wrote it from the capital of the enclave, which is surrounded by Israeli troops. where this Friday the UN officially confirmed hunger in a historic verdict: it was the first time such a verdict had been handed down in a country outside of sub-Saharan Africa.

Behind Collboni's appearance were tons of pallets loaded with flour, rice, blankets, and hygiene items from UNRWA, destined for the Gaza Strip, where Israel's killing spree continues unabated. Israeli authorities have blocked the entry of humanitarian aid and independent NGOs since March, and barely allow in around 100 truckloads of supplies per day, a tiny amount compared to what the UN considers necessary to feed the Strip's inhabitants: 600 truckloads per day.