In a virtual Zoom press conference held this week, Dr. Linda Sobeh Ali, Palestinian Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Trinidad and Tobago, has opened up about her dual perspective on shifting diplomatic dynamics in the Caribbean: growing alarm over Israel’s deepening engagement with Trinidad and Tobago, paired with unshakable confidence that the local government will uphold its longstanding support for Palestinian statehood.
Sobeh Ali’s comments came in direct response to press questions about recent high-level interactions between Israeli officials and Trinidad and Tobago’s government, including a formal courtesy call on Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers by Israeli representatives last month. When pressed on whether Palestine views the warming of ties between the two countries as a threat, the ambassador did not mince words, describing the situation in stark terms: “We are concerned, and I have the faith that the Trinidad and Tobago government knows and understands that it’s not a conflict, it’s an ongoing occupation, it’s ongoing genocide, it’s ongoing humiliation, it’s ongoing land grab, it’s ongoing annexation, it’s ongoing illegal settlement, it’s ongoing burning people alive.”
The ambassador emphasized that Palestine fully respects Trinidad and Tobago’s sovereign right to shape its own independent foreign policy, regardless of regional diplomatic shifts. That commitment to respect, however, has not stopped Palestinian authorities from closely tracking Israel’s deliberate push to expand its diplomatic footprint across the Caribbean region.
Sobeh Ali noted that Palestine has already built strong working relations with Trinidad and Tobago’s current administration. She made history as the first fully accredited Palestinian ambassador to present her credentials under the current government, after the previous Trinidad and Tobago administration formally recognized the State of Palestine in 2024. To date, she has held official meetings with President Christine Kangaloo, Minister Sobers, and multiple other cabinet ministers, and has continued active outreach to regional leaders during recent Caricom summits held in St. Lucia.
Even with these established diplomatic channels, Sobeh Ali confirmed that growing Israeli influence in the Caribbean remains a major source of concern. “Are we alarmed to see Israel in the Caribbean? Yes, we are,” she stated. She shared a personal anecdote to illustrate the discomfort the trend brings: a recent encounter with Hebrew-language signs marking “private property” immediately brought back traumatic memories of similar signs being posted on seized Palestinian land and homes back in her homeland.
In response to these latest diplomatic developments, the ambassador announced plans to travel to Trinidad and Tobago in the near future to hold in-person, face-to-face talks with top government officials. She reiterated that Palestine trusts the Trinidad and Tobago government will continue to uphold its commitments to international law, and does not expect the administration to take controversial steps such as opening an Israeli embassy in Jerusalem — a city Palestine universally recognizes as occupied territory.
Sobeh Ali used the platform of the press conference to renew global calls for expanded support for the Palestinian people, urging Caribbean governments across the region to keep pushing for unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza, enhanced protections for civilian populations, and a lasting negotiated two-state solution to the decades-long conflict. In a direct, emotional appeal, she called on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to continue championing the Palestinian cause, framing the request as a shared appeal across identities: “Madam Prime Minister, with all due respect, I come to you and I ask you as a mother, as a woman to woman, as a diplomat to diplomat, as a human to human, to continue to advocate for the liberation of Palestine, for the creation of two-state solution and for a just cause of international law for all the Palestinians.”