"The Portuguese Government must take all diplomatic initiatives within its reach to stop the genocide of the Palestinian people. Therefore, within the scope of the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe and all other international institutions in which it participates, it must not only denounce war crimes but also actively contribute to achieving peace and immediately ending the massacre of the population of Gaza", says the request of the Left Bloc (BE), which asks for the hearing of Paulo Rangel "urgently".

The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) stresses the "urgent need for the international community to mobilize to demand an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid to the populations and a solution for peace within the framework of the United Nations resolutions", asking for the presence of the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs in parliament to "give explanations about the position of the Portuguese Government and about its performance in the international plan in this process".

The parties showed themselves to be in favor of these requests, but PSD and Chega disagreed with the reference to 'genocide' in the BE initiative.

The social-democratic deputy Paulo Neves highlighted the "quite balanced" position of Portugal, "regardless of the parties" in the Government, about the conflict.

The PSD, he pointed out, "does not agree with this definition that the Left Bloc insists on having", stressing that "for the PSD and for the Portuguese Government, be it this one or the previous one, a genocide is not taking place in Gaza".

The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated on Monday to the Spanish newspaper El País that "genocide presupposes the will to eliminate a people" and "it would be very unfair to say that Israel intends to eliminate the Palestinian people", considering that "there is a humanitarian catastrophe that demands condemnation, that demands that Israel accepts an immediate ceasefire and that needs to be repaired as quickly as possible".

The Chega deputy Diogo Pacheco Amorim also highlighted that his bench "does not agree with the terms, namely genocide and others, that do not correspond" to what the elected officials of this party "understand to be the reality".

The socialist Paulo Pisco regretted the "particularly serious and worrying situation" that affects the Gaza Strip, the scene of a conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas for more than seven months", with a "humanitarian situation that has worsened increasingly".

The PS deputy also recalled that the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution in March for an immediate ceasefire, which was "totally ignored".

"The Government must have a very active role both within the European Union and in all forums in which it can participate", he said.

The current conflict was triggered after an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in October 2023, which caused about 1,200 deaths and two hundred hostages, according to the Israeli authorities.

In retaliation, Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that has already caused more than 35,000 deaths and 79,000 injuries, according to Hamas, which has controlled the Palestinian enclave since 2007.

The Israeli retaliation is causing a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with more than 1.1 million people in a "situation of catastrophic hunger" that is already claiming victims - "the highest number ever recorded" by the UN in food security studies in the world.

Read Also: After denying genocide, Rangel speaks of "unprecedented gesture" towards Palestine (Portuguese version)