The Palestinian Embassy in the Philippines said that they are looking into promoting awareness and building bridges with Filipinos in a courtesy call with GMA Network on Tuesday.
Palestinian Ambassador to the Philippines Mounir Y.K. Anastas said that the Philippines and Palestine have a shared history in being colonized countries, but that Palestine is still dealing with occupation.
“We have, unfortunately, walls, and we are trying to build bridges between nations, and culture is the most powerful tool for building such bridges, of course. So I’m really honored to be with you, and I think that this will be very important in order to raise awareness among the Filipino population,” he said.
Anastas also pointed out that the Philippines has long recognized Palestinian statehood.
“The government is completely aware about the Palestinian case, and as you mentioned, the Philippines, since the beginning since the proclamation of the State of Palestine, the Philippines was one of the first countries to recognize the statehood of Palestine,” he said.
Israel is currently conducting a military assault on the Gaza Strip, one of the occupied Palestinian territories, with the stated intention of obliterating Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attacks on areas in southern Israel. At least 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, as well as by its blockade of aid, both of which have been condemned by the United Nations.
South Africa has taken Israel to court at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of the genocide of the Palestinian people.
The International Criminal Court has also issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant for the Gaza atrocities, and Hamas commander Ibrahim Al-Masri for the October 7 attacks, in which Hamas kidnapped about 250 Israelis and other nationalities, many of whom are still held hostage. Masri was killed in Gaza in 2024.
In another Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory, the West Bank, Israelis are seizing land and building settlements, which the ICJ has ruled illegal. Israel has dismissed the ruling.
Anastas highlighted the humanitarian issues from the conflict, saying that Palestine was a separate state from Israel. He also said the conflict between Israel and Palestine was not religious in nature, but that it was being framed as such.
He expressed his disappointment over several of their historic cities, such as the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank, being on occupied land.
“My city, Bethlehem, is not part of Israel. It is occupied by Israel, but it is a Palestinian city… Unfortunately, still it is under occupation, and it was annexed by the State of Israel,” he said.
“People can’t understand that the State of Palestine legally existed…It has been recognized by 148 countries so far. The only impediment is the occupation…The most important thing to bridge this is that Filipino people are very religious. The origin of Christianity is in my city. The old city of Jerusalem is of high significance and importance for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but it has nothing to do with the conflict. Our conflict is not religious. Our conflict with Israel is a political conflict,” he continued.
Anastas also thanked GMA Network for the opportunity to discuss the matter.
“This is what I would like to transmit through GMA to the Filipino people… For us, peace is important for different reasons. Because we believe in this, and we believe that we can reach it without violence. We have a weapon that Israel doesn’t have, and they can’t buy it anywhere. This weapon is the truth and the right,” he said.
Meanwhile, GMA Network President and CEO Gilberto Duavit Jr. said that a meeting with the ambassador was the “beginning” of opportunities to work together towards nation-building and further partnerships.
“I see the size of your mission to further strengthen and broaden our ties, whether these be cultural and all-related ties. We are encouraged, Your Excellency, by what appears to be a common thread between us when we look at your orientations and what you all do, your views on the value of culture in nation-building, the value of culture in creating partnerships. That’s largely what we do and what we do as a pleasure for us to finally meet you,” Duavit said.
“We share the commitment, of course, of our President to peace and prosperity, something that, Your Excellency, you honor us with,” he added.
Duavit was joined at the call by GMA Vice President and head for Corporate Affairs and Communications Angela Javier Cruz and Senior Vice President and Head of GMA Integrated News, GMA Regional TV, and Synergy Oliver Victor Amoroso. — BM, GMA Integrated News
