Statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba has learned with profound concern of the criminal attack perpetrated in the early hours of May 31 by the special forces of the Israeli Army on a flotilla of boats which, in international waters, was transporting humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people resident in the Gaza Strip, an attack that provoked death and injury among various members of that flotilla.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its most energetic condemnation of this devious and criminal attack on the part of the Israeli government and calls on the international community and peace-loving peoples to demand the immediate lifting by the Israeli authorities of the illegal, ruthless and genocidal blockade of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Cuba wishes to convey its most heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and reiterates its support for and solidarity with the just cause of the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights, which include the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Havana, May 31, 2010