Palestinian state is best chance for security and peace, says Spanish PM
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has said the Israeli response to Hamas’s “terrible” attacks last month cannot include “the deaths of innocents, including thousands of children”, and reiterated that the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel remains the best way to bring peace and security to the region.
Sánchez’s blunt plea came on the first day of a two-day visit to Israel, the West Bank and Egypt with the Belgian prime minister, Alexander de Croo.
Speaking as he met Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, on Thursday morning, the Spanish prime minister offered his sympathies over the terrorist atrocities but said they could not justify innocent deaths.
“Spain shares Israel’s pain over the terrible events of 7 October,” he said in remarks reported by El País. “Israel has the right to defend itself but it must respect international law. Its response cannot involve the deaths of innocents, including thousands of children. We need to stop this humanitarian catastrophe and stop the suffering of the Palestinians. Civilians must be protected. We need to look for a humanitarian ceasefire.”
Sánchez said the Palestinian authorities should take control of Gaza when the war was over. “The two-state solution should be implemented to defeat terrorism and guarantee Israel’s security,” he said.
He called for an international peace conference to be held as soon as possible, adding: “We need to achieve the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in peace and security.”
Sánchez and De Croo are expected to meet the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, on Thursday afternoon, before travelling to Egypt for talks with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
Spain, which currently holds the EU presidency, has said it is ready to hold a peace conference on the conflict. On Thursday, the country’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, told state radio RNE: “The definitive solution is the existence of a Palestinian state that guarantees Israel’s security.” He said Spain was “in favour of recognising” a Palestinian state.
Relations between Spain and Israel have been fraught over recent weeks after some far-left members of Sánchez’s previous cabinet criticised Israel’s reaction to the terrorist atrocities, suggesting it was committing war crimes in Gaza and calling for its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to be brought before the international criminal court.
Israel’s embassy in Madrid described the remarks as “deeply immoral” and accused some Spanish MPs of aligning themselves with “Isis-style terrorism”.
Spain responded with its own strongly worded statement that accused the Israeli embassy of “spreading falsehoods” about some cabinet members.
“In a full democracy, such as Spain, any political leader can freely express their positions as the representative of a political party,” the statement from the foreign ministry said.
“In any case, the Spanish government’s position on the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas is clear: unequivocal condemnation; demands for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, and the recognition of Israel to defend itself within the limits set by international law and international humanitarian law.”
Spain’s stated desire to recognise a Palestinian state would follow similar official recognition from Sweden, Iceland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Romania.