The head of Portuguese diplomacy, Paulo Rangel, will be heard in parliament, at the request of the PS, about the passage, through the Lajes base, in the Azores, of North American F-35 fighters destined for Israel.
The socialists’ request was approved this Tuesday (14 October) by the parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities with the favorable votes of the PS, PSD and Liberal Initiative and received a vote against from Chega.
Bloco de Esquerda and PCP – which do not have a permanent seat on the second committee – also presented requests with the same objective, but which were not voted on as deputies from these benches did not attend today’s meeting.
At issue is a stopover at the Lajes Base, located in the Azores archipelago, of three F-35 aircraft, in April, which were sold by the United States of America to Israel, which was allegedly made without prior communication to Paulo Rangel, – a “procedural failure” whose responsibilities the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) said it wanted to investigate.
The Portuguese Government decreed an embargo on the sale and transit of weapons destined for Israel, in the context of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
An entity dependent on the Ministry of Defense, the National Aeronautical Authority, gave prior authorization, but Foreign Affairs clarified that it was “exclusively an internal communication failure within the scope” of Paulo Rangel’s supervision.
The case generated controversy, with left-wing parties demanding that minister Paulo Rangel, and also the head of National Defense, Nuno Melo, go to parliament to provide clarifications.
The general secretary of the PS, José Luís Carneiro, considered Paulo Rangel’s statements to be serious about not having been previously informed of the air operation.
Nuno Melo’s audition request failed
The parliamentary Defense committee failed the requests for an urgent hearing from the Minister of National Defense, Nuno Melo, requested by the PS and PCP, on the same case.
Chega voted against both requests, and PSD and CDS-PP, parties that support the Government in parliament, voted against the communists’ request and abstained from the socialists’ request.
The case was reported during the election campaign for local councils, at the beginning of this month, with the prime minister lamenting that there had been “a procedural error”. However, Luís Montenegro refused any dismissal from the executive for this reason.
The Lajes Air Base, located in the Azores archipelago, is used militarily by the United States of America, within the scope of a bilateral cooperation agreement.