Deputy FM tells Senate govt determined to evacuate Thai workers from Israel

Jakkapong was responding to a query sent by a senator, who wanted to inquire about the situation of Thai workers in Israel following the Hamas-led attack on two Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip. The question was submitted by Senator Suwat Jiraphan.

Jakkapong told the Senate that Israel has not yet opened its airspace for Thai planes to be flown in to pick up Thais stranded in the country.

Hence, he said, the government has come up with a contingency plan of seeking permission from Jordan and Bahrain for Thai workers to travel there via land before being picked up in planes later.

“The government affirms that it will do anything to bring all Thais back, even though there are up to 30,000 Thais working there,” Jakkapong told the Senate.

“We have talked to the armed forces and private sector to try to find channels for evacuating Thais.”

The deputy spokesman assured the upper chamber that Thailand would strictly maintain its neutrality in the conflicts between Palestine and Israel.

He said the government would like to see Israel and Palestine live in peace in line with resolutions endorsed by the United Nations and the UN Security Council. He added that the government wanted to see the two countries hold peace talks and end the war.

“The Thai government would like to call on Israel and Palestine, as well as all other sectors in charge of keeping peace in the region to ensure the safe release of captured Thais,” Jakkapong added.

Suwat said he has talked to several foreign envoys, who expressed concerns over the situation in Israel.

He said the Thai government should rush to secure the release of captured Thais and evacuate the injured Thais as soon as possible.