Abela says Malta 'cannot tolerate' suffering in Gaza

Prime Minister Robert Abela said Malta cannot tolerate the suffering unfolding in Gaza.

Speaking during an interview on ONE News on Sunday morning, Abela said a clear and firm position must be taken to bring what he described as “enormous suffering” to an end.

“Children who should be starting school this week are being handed guns and sent to fight,” he said. “They are starving, they don’t have water.”

Abela said civilians and children are enduring “the worst pain imaginable” as the conflict continues.

He insisted that Malta’s stability cannot be used as an excuse to ignore developments abroad.

“We have clear principles of solidarity for people who are suffering,” Abela said. “There is only one solution: Peace.”

He acknowledged that while the word is easy to say, achieving it is far more difficult. Referring to the two-state solution, Abela said conflicting positions among the parties involved continue to complicate efforts to resolve the conflict.

This follows an address given by the prime minister at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, in which he called for an end to settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank.

During his speech, Abela said Malta remained committed to a negotiated two-state solution and backed the Gaza Peace Plan as a route towards ending the conflict and opening the way to political progress.