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MFA statement on inviting ambassadors of Egypt, Israel, and Palestine

06.11.2023

On 6 November at the MFA headquarters, deputy chief of Polish diplomacy Paweł Jabłoński held urgent talks with the ambassadors of Egypt, Israel, and Palestine. The meeting focused on the resumption of the operation of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and the facilitation of the evacuation of Polish nationals through this crossing point.

MFA Statement

During the talks with the ambassadors, Deputy Minister Jabłoński stressed that Poland demands that the Rafah border crossing be reopened so as to enable immediate evacuation, particularly of Polish nationals. At present, around five to six thousand third-country citizens remain in the Gaza Strip, including 29 Poles. The list of the Polish nationals was submitted to the Egyptian and Israeli sides as early as on 9 October, together with diplomatic notes requesting to ensure their safe evacuation.

Deputy Minister Jabłoński also reiterated that Poland strongly condemns terrorist acts and other criminal activities by Hamas, particularly the attacks that took place on 7 October and on subsequent days. Poland also strongly opposes the use of the civilian population as “human shields” and demands that the hostages held by Hamas be released immediately. 

At the same time, the deputy head of the Polish MFA underlined that any military action must be carried out in accordance with the applicable rules of international law and humanitarian law, ensuring the protection of the civilian population. Poland strongly condemns actions which take the form of collective punishment inflicted on innocent residents of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The evacuation of Polish citizens from the Gaza Strip remains a priority for the Polish authorities. To ensure Polish citizens’ leaving the danger area as soon as possible, the Polish diplomatic and consular services have been making continuous efforts, keeping in touch with our nationals through the MFA staff in the ministry’s headquarters and the diplomatic missions in Ramallah, Tel Aviv, and Cairo.

In the afternoon, the Rafah border crossing was reopened, and the evacuation is to be resumed. The MFA continually endeavours to ensure that Polish nationals could find a safe place as soon as possible.

Around five to six thousand third-country citizens still remain in the Gaza Strip. Contrary to false information circulating in the media, the vast majority of EU countries have not evacuated their nationals yet or have carried out a partial evacuation. Due to the large scale of disinformation on this matter, we suggest following closely official statements by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by other institutions. 

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