The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albaresspoke this Sunday with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, in the midst of a diplomatic crisis unleashed by Tel Aviv after calling its ambassador in Madrid for consultations in retaliation for Pedro Sánchez’s criticism of his offensive in Gaza.
“We have the best relations with Israel. In fact, this Sunday I spoke with him [Eli Cohen] and the ambassador [Rodica Radian-Gordon]”said the head of Spanish diplomacy before entering the Congress of Deputies to talk about the war in Loop. “The conversation that the President of the Government had with Minister Benny Gantz or the one that I had with my colleague Eli Cohen last week indicate that We are all interested in maintaining friendly relationshipsof course each one maintaining their position,” he said.
Albares did not want, when asked by journalists, to reveal If you are considering applying diplomatic reciprocity and also call for inquiries (temporarily withdraw) to the Spanish ambassador to Israel, Ana Sálomon.
The minister has defended the position that, together with President Pedro Sánchez, he has held since the attacks of October 7 Hamas against Israeli territorywith at least 1,200 dead. First, condemn Hamas. Second, request to Israel to respect the international law in its offensive in Gaza. The laws of war prohibit indiscriminate attacks against civilian targets such as homes, bakeries or mosques, except for very specific exceptions that must be justified.
“The Palestinians need the hope of a state, and the Israelis need security guarantees,” the minister said. A viable state “with capital in East Jerusalem” in which “they can finally live in peace and security.
He has insisted on calling Hamas a “terrorist group” and has said that it does not represent the Palestinians. He has asked the parties present in Congress to follow him in the proposal to create a Palestinian state to stop the cycle of violence. “No more deaths of innocent Palestinians […] No more dead children, Israeli or Palestinian. The Palestinians need a horizon of peace, and that is their own State. Let’s work for it, that is the proposal that I bring to this chamber today,” the minister concluded.
Criticism of the Popular Party
“Your Government trivializes foreign policy,” he responded Esteban González-Pons, of the Popular Party. “His politics are opinion-based, and not state-related.”
The popular one has agreed with Albares that “Hamas is not Palestine and much less represents the people of Gaza.” He recognizes that “the soul breaks in the face of so much Palestinian pain.” “We must encourage Israel to contain its anger and not fall into the aggressor’s trap. But what we are pursuing is the destruction of the infrastructure that Hamas uses to prevent October 7 from happening again. We won’t argue about what. The terrorists must be destroyed,” he added.
He has also asked Albares that, when the Israeli ambassador returns to Spain, he ask her to bring the information that the judge in the case has requested. Pegasus about the spying on Pedro Sánchez’s cell phone. Tel Aviv has refused to cooperate.
Albares has reproached, during his reply, that the PP lacks “humanity” and that they have not even mentioned “international humanitarian law”, as they did during the illegal war in Iraq. “They have no sense of State with foreign policy,” claimed the head of Spanish diplomacy.
The Plenary Session of the Congress of Deputies has welcomed the appearance of the Minister of Foreign Affairs at a double request, his own and that of the Popular Group. The PP had requested the appearance of Albares to “explain the assessment of the terrorist attack that Israel has suffered, the situation in which the Spaniards find themselves in the region, the lines of action” that the Executive will take and “how it affects our foreign policy this conflict. There was no reference in his request to the situation of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian activists in Congress
Two pro-Palestinian activists interrupted the appearance of José Manuel Albares this Tuesday to explain the Government’s position on Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. They have displayed a Palestinian flag in the stands, amidst shouts against Israel. The Congress security team has expelled them.
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“You are complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people,” shouted a middle-aged woman, while being grabbed by one of the ushers in the chamber. “Down with Zionism!” shouted his companion, who resisted and was forcibly expelled.
Groups such as the Committee to Support the Arab Cause ask the Foreign Minister to move from words to actions and carry out a series of measures. First, “suspend the arms trade, and security relations; second, prohibit Spain’s trade with the settlements; third, sanction companies that fail to comply, for example, preventing them from participating in public tenders or subsidies, which participate in the colonization of the occupied Palestinian territory.” They also request compensation for assets financed by Spain and its NGOs, destroyed or seized. for Israel. And that Spain pressure the European Union to request the suspension of the EU-Israel Preferential Agreement, not to carry out military maneuvers in NATO where Israel participates and withdraw Spanish nationality from residents in illegal colonies.