The LIVRE party repudiated the reception of the Israeli ambassador by the Municipal Council of Guimarães, which took place at the Paços do Concelho. The meeting was officially presented as dedicated to creating collaboration opportunities in the areas of innovation, technology, civil protection, qualification of human resources, and investment attraction, highlighting the establishment at AvePark of TAG Medical Products Corporation, through TAGlobal Portugal, described as the company's first industrial unit in Europe.
LIVRE considers the moment particularly sensitive, given that a United Nations inquiry commission concluded that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, and that Portugal joined other European countries to announce trade restrictions against illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The party states that "receiving an ambassador is protocol" but "announcing economic, technological, and investment cooperation is a political choice, and the choice was made by the Council." The council president responded to the criticism by saying he will continue to receive all ambassadors accredited in Portugal, framing the meeting within a set of about thirteen audiences granted as part of the investment session of the Academy of Diplomacy.
LIVRE demands that the Municipal Council of Guimarães publicly acknowledge that the communication of the meeting projected a political and economic normalization incompatible with the position assumed by the Portuguese state, suspend any institutional economic cooperation initiative with Israel while the violations of international law identified by the UN persist, transparently disclose the contacts, support, and benefits associated with the installation of TAGlobal Portugal at AvePark, and that the municipality's external actions align with the sanctions announced by Portugal.
The party recalls the position it has been advocating in the Assembly of the Republic, through Deputy Rui Tavares, in favor of urgent recognition of the State of Palestine and immediate suspension of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel. LIVRE underlines that, as Guimarães is a World Heritage City, its name constitutes "a public good, not a promotional asset indifferent to context," and announces that it will bring these demands to the Municipal Assembly of Guimarães.
