Palestinian envoy wants Caribbean lead ceasefire statehood push

Palestinian Ambassador to Barbados Linda Sobeh Ali has appealed to Caribbean nations to leverage their collective diplomatic weight at the United Nations to demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire and push for full Palestinian statehood amidst what she described as an escalating humanitarian catastrophe.

Appearing in a virtual media briefing, the envoy praised Prime Minister Mia Mottley among other leaders for historical advocacy on international platforms, while stressing that the region’s collective voice remains vital in preventing the crisis from being sidelined.

​”We ask Barbados and the Caribbean to continue to speak for a permanent ceasefire and for a solution. The solution is the ceasefire and the two-state solution.

“The Caribbean and CARICOM have a strong vote and a strong say. We ask Caribbean leaders to continue to pressure for a permanent ceasefire, for the human rights of Palestinians, but mainly also for a sovereign state.”

​Drawing explicit parallels between the struggle of the Palestinian people and the historical experiences of the Caribbean, the diplomat highlighted the region’s moral authority in global affairs.

​”Caribbean people lived under that same slavery, lived under that same type of conditions that Palestinians are living nowadays. Nelson Mandela said there won’t be any peace until there is peace in Palestine. I ask every Caribbean woman, teenager, or man to continue to speak up, continue to spread the truth about Palestine.”

​Addressing the situation in Gaza, Ambassador Sobeh Ali reported that 1 123 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire, bringing the total number of deaths to 73 283, noting that the figure reflects only fully identified individuals documented alongside UN reports.

​”When I say 73 000, I am saying reported, identified fully. The rest remain unknown, including at least 21,638 children,” she said, warning that thousands more remain unaccounted for under collapsed infrastructure.

​The envoy painted a stark picture of daily life in the enclave, citing severe restrictions on essential aid that have brought healthcare and basic survival systems to near total collapse. More than 1 700 healthcare workers have been killed and expressed deep concern over widespread reports of severe abuse, torture, and sexual violence against detainees held in Israeli custody, she said.

​Beyond the ongoing military campaign in Gaza, the ambassador directed critical focus toward deteriorating conditions across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, pointing to systematic settlement expansion and infrastructure destruction.

Israeli authorities have advanced plans for over 1 024 new settlement units on Palestinian land — actions consistently deemed illegal under international law by the United Nations. In six days up to last Saturday, the West Bank recorded 315 military assaults, 44 shooting incidents, and 94 organized attacks by armed Israeli settlers, alongside direct agricultural damages amounting to US$1.86 million in a single week.

​”Do not believe that there is a ceasefire. Do not take your radar off Palestine,” Ambassador Sobeh Ali urged. “People think that there is a ceasefire, that we are okay, that the suffering ended. The suffering is intensified. Attacks are intensified. Killing is intensified.”

​The reality of these daily restrictions was underscored during the live press conference by Palestinian diplomat Miral Aqel, who was forced to join the briefing via telephone while held at an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank.

​”In normal cases, it takes me like 20 minutes to be in the office, but every day there is a checkpoint around the time people leave,” Aqel explained from her vehicle. “They usually put checkpoints to make people suffer going home or going to the offices, so it takes me now two or three hours every day to arrive home or to get to the office.”

​Later in the call, Aquel received real-time confirmation of further violence: “While we are in the conference room, I just received a text that another young Palestinian boy was killed on a checkpoint in Jenin. Every one hour you can receive a text of someone who has been killed.”

​When asked about the path forward for structural and economic recovery, Ambassador Sobeh Ali said the withholding of public funds by Israeli authorities has severely paralyzed the Palestinian Authority’s administrative functions. Civil servants, including medical staff and educators, have gone without full salaries for years, pushing municipal economies into systemic failure.

The Palestinian diplomats said they had resolved to maintain international media appearances and foster direct bilateral dialogue across the Caribbean region to ensure accurate, on-the-ground reporting continues to reach the international community.