Spain is preparing for an eventual future recognition of the State of Palestine, something that 10 of the 27 countries of the European Union and 139 of the 193 members of the United Nations have already done. The president of the Government, Pedro Sanchezhe promised it already in 2015, but until now he has not taken the step. In last week’s inauguration speech, she promised again. But he does not want to do it alone, but in a coordinated manner with other European partners.
In this context, José Manuel Albares spoke this Wednesday in Madrid with EU counterparts about the possibility of recognition, as explained by the Foreign Minister after a meeting of southern European countries (Med-9) in Madrid this Wednesday. He Med-9 It is made up of Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia and Croatia.
“The recognition of the Palestinian State is one of the issues we have discussed,” said the head of Spanish diplomacy. “And around the table there has been consensus that what those of us who, like Spain, had to do We are clearly committed to that recognition. […] It is to come together, speak, and do it in a way that is intelligent, that favors peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Albares has assured that Spain is clear that “bet on that recognition”because “it is fair for the Palestinians, and because it guarantees the stability of the Middle East and is the best way to also guarantee security for the State of Israel, that this is the last time we see violence of this type.”
Countries favorable to the recognition of Palestine
Several EU countries are however very far from the idea of recognizing Palestine as a State, especially Germanywhich considers the existence and security of the State of Israel a “reason of state” and is the main ally of the Hebrew state in Europe.
But that is not an impediment for Spain to take the step and recognize the Palestinian State, they explain from Moncloa. The key is to do it, they say, at the right time, in such a way that it helps solve the conflict and does not remain a mere gesture of support.
In a Non-Law Proposal approved in the Spanish Parliament in 2014, the Government was urged to recognize Palestine as a State, pointing out that said recognition should be a consequence of a negotiating process between Israelis and Palestinians and promoted in coordination with the EU.
Peace summit for Israel and Palestine
Albares has insisted to the ministers or secretaries of State present at the Med-9 meeting on the convenience of beginning to gather support to hold a peace summit for Israel and Palestine.
This is a Spanish idea, as insisted both in Moncloa and in the Palace of Santa Cruz, to which the EU countries have already joined in the last Council and the countries of the Arab League and the Islamic Conference. An International Peace Conference for the Middle East that recovers the spirit of Madrid Conference of 1991, prelude to the Oslo Accords of 1993.
The objective would be to achieve “the two-state solution to materialize, once and for all,” Minister Albares insisted. Israel has prevented the consummation of the Palestinian State because it occupies much of the territory of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Now bomb Gaza like retaliation to the Hamas attacks of October 7 that ended the lives of more than 1,200 people. It has destroyed half of the most important city in the north of the Strip, Gaza City. More than 11,000 Palestinians have died, according to the latest, outdated figures given by the Gaza Ministry of Health on November 10.
Pedro Sánchez is going to bring the proposal of a future peace conference and the Spanish position on the recognition of Palestine in the tour of Israel, Palestine and Egypt, which starts this Thursday and ends on Friday. He is going to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s president, Isaac Herzog; with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; and with the Egyptian, Abdelfatah El-Sisi.
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“It is time to convey that we cannot resign ourselves to everyday life every few years, for Palestinians and Israelis, being this unbearable horror that we are suffering, with 17,000 civilians dead. It is unbearable,” said José Manuel Albares. The minister assumes that now, in the middle of the war, is not the time to set dates, although Moncloa speaks of six months as a possible horizon. “It is a summit that Spain cannot organize alone, not even the EU alone, everyone has to be there, especially Israel and Palestine.”
Representatives of Israel and Palestine will be on next Monday in Barcelona for the summit of the Union for the Mediterranean, as diplomatic sources confirm to this newspaper. The level of that representation is not known. The Union for the Mediterranean is made up of the 27 States of the European Union and the 15 Mediterranean partner countries of North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Europe. It is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, at the Royal Palace of Pedralbes.