The Spanish government will provide at least 75 million euros to the Palestinian National Authority in the next two years to facilitate the construction of your state. The executive of Pedro Sanchez recognized Palestine as a state on May 28, leading a small group of European countries that distanced themselves from a larger consensus of allies equally committed to it, but They considered the timing “inappropriate”.
This was decided at the intergovernmental meeting held a week ago in Moncloa. During this meeting, both parties agreed a new bilateral cooperation strategy which will mobilize this amount “focused on the construction of the State of Palestine” by supporting the entity chaired by Mahmoud Abbas and in the “recovery of the country after the effects of the conflict”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs detailed this Thursday, as well as other aspects of Spanish foreign policy, during his appearance, at his own request, before the plenary session of the Congress to report on Spanish initiatives in favor of peace in Middle East.
José Manuel Albares defended the controversial position of the government, which cost it a serious diplomatic crisis with Israel, starting with the savage attacks by Hamas in the south of the country on October 7, 2023.
The minister established that Spanish foreign policy is based on the same principles, applied “the same in Kyiv, Gaza and Beirut”: the Charter of the United Nations, international humanitarian law, “the protection of civilians” and the “rejection of unjust and illegal wars”.
And in this sense, he informed the House that His ministry has already released an additional 50 million euros in 2023for cooperation and humanitarian action in Palestine, tripling the figure from the previous year. And for what 2024, this game will reach “similar levels”.
Direct line to Iran
Pedro Sánchez’s executive, he said, will always be “on the side of those who need our support and solidarity.” He further boasted that, according to him, “No country has done as much as Spain for peace in the Middle East”.
Just two days ago, Albares met for the second time in two months with the Iranian Foreign Minister, with whom he established a direct line of contact. Thus, what was lost in Jerusalem, a Euro-Atlantic ally, is compensated by access to Tehran, a key element of the current “axis of evil” for many Western actors.
During these two bilateral meetings, Albares complained to his Iranian counterpart: Abbas Araghchithat your country stop launching rockets against Israel and delivering weapons to Russia for their invasion war in Ukraine.
“We contribute to peace through words and deeds,” declared the head of diplomacy to the deputies. “And we do this in all areas: with political and diplomatic initiatives, with initiatives to end war and establish peace; with actions to fight against impunity and defend international lawwith commitment and action in terms of humanitarian aid”.
Stop Netanyahu
Albares rejects the idea that Spain’s position is more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israeli. In its conceptualization, the eternal conflict in the Middle East does not take place within the framework of these parameters, but rather in that of the search for the path towards peace, justice and coexistence for all, “and the most fundamental humanity”.
Therefore, “we have strongly condemned the Israeli bombings of Gaza and Lebanon and violence in the West Bank, just like we did condemned Hamas terrorist attacks and the launching of missiles by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel.
In any case, the Spanish minister also assured, in statements to the press at the end of the debate, that if the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuvisited Spain, the government would implement the arrest order of the International Criminal Court (ICC): “We will respect all our obligations”.
The explanation, as he slipped it, had been in his speech: “We want international law to prevail and impunity not to prevail. So that the guns remain silent, that dialogue and peace arrive and that innocent civilians stop dying,” Spain said. proceedings initiated by South Africa against Israel before the ICC.
“The International Criminal Court has a Rome Statute of which Spain is the founder and which implies a series of obligations, and we we will fill with all that that imposes,” he noted.
Also in his speech, he revealed that Spain would make a additional contribution of 1.6 million euros to the International Criminal Court. Thanks to this, Spain will have contributed more than eight million to this organization since last year, which places our country “among the ten largest contributors”.
