News

Ambassador Stefano Ronca receives Palestinian Foreign Minister

Palestinian Foreign Minister
11/05/2021

On 6 May, the Order of Malta’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to Italy Stefano Ronca received the Foreign Affairs Minister of Palestine Riad Al-Malki in the Magistral Palace.

Minister Al-Malki expressed serious concern for the growing tensions between Palestine and Israel. Tensions which culminated with violent clashes on the border between Gaza and Israel, causing deaths and injuries. The fighting – also recorded in other cities – was sparked by evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah district in East Jerusalem, leading to demonstrations and clashes on the Esplanade of the Mosques.

The Palestinian minister said that the current situation has forced the scheduled general and presidential elections to be postponed. In addition, the number of Covid-19 infections remains worrying in the context of insufficient vaccine distribution and a lack of medicines and oxygen in hospitals.
The collapse of the economy, especially that linked to pilgrimages, has led to a general deterioration in the living conditions of the Bethlehem community, where the Order of Malta has run a maternity hospital since 1990. The Holy Family Hospital continues to be a medical excellence in the region, the only hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit. The Palestinian Minister stressed the essential role played precisely by the hospital and in general by the Order of Malta in Palestine, hoping that their joint humanitarian projects could be further strengthened. Already in 2018, the Order of Malta and Palestine had signed a memorandum of understanding to bring humanitarian aid to third countries.

The Order of Malta has enjoyed official relations with Palestine since 2011, when the Order’s Representative Office was opened in Ramallah. Numerous cooperation agreements regarding humanitarian assistance have been signed over the years.