Israel's Ambassador to Portugal, Oren Rozenblat, has recently challenged two news reports published by the Portuguese media — one by SIC and another by Expresso — arguing that both present an inaccurate account of the facts and contribute to a distorted perception of reality.
Referring to SIC's report, titled "Prisons are full of workers: Israel suspends work permits for Palestinians", the ambassador said the article is based on an inaccurate interpretation of the situation.
According to Rozenblat, the Palestinians referred to in the report were not entering Israel under valid work permits but were instead attempting to cross the border illegally in order to work without authorization from the Israeli authorities.
The ambassador also recalled that, before the October 7, 2023 massacre, more than 150,000 Palestinians were legally employed in Israel. That reality changed dramatically following the attacks, as a significant portion of Israeli society began opposing the return of Palestinian workers, arguing that some had gathered intelligence that helped facilitate the planning and execution of the October 7 attack.
"October 7 changed the entire Middle East, as well as the situation of Palestinian workers," said Oren Rozenblat.
Rozenblat also commented on a report published by Expresso on July 24, criticizing the terminology used to describe the site known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The ambassador argued that the newspaper's use of the term "the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound", without any reference to the site's designation as the Temple Mount, creates the impression that it is sacred exclusively to Muslims, while omitting its central significance to Judaism and its importance to Christianity."
This is cultural erasure," he said.
The Expresso article referred to the entry of a large number of Jews into the site during Tisha B'Av, the most solemn day of mourning in the Jewish calendar, accompanied by Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. The ambassador also criticized the newspaper's use of the term "radical Jews".
