After several days of bombing on Lebanon, Israeli troops invaded the southern territories of this country this morning, in an escalation of the conflict which threatens the entire region and which made the headlines of the world’s main newspapers. This issue, however, is not of sufficient importance for the Popular Party, which on Tuesday focused its foreign policy positions on Venezuela and Mexico due to the attacks that its presidents have directed in recent days against Alberto Núñez Feijóo or the king.
Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbor is therefore not one of the current topics that PP spokesperson Miguel Tellado addresses every Tuesday during press conferences in Congress. In addition to detailing his bill on conciliation or criticizing the increase in VAT on food, the MP launched into foreign policy. But his concerns focused on Latin America.
“Today the new president of Mexico takes office and, for the first time, he offends our head of state. And this weekend we got to hear from the dictator Nicolás Maduro […] insulting the leader of the Spanish opposition, the president of a Spanish autonomous community and the elected president of his country exiled in Spain,” Tellado said. His criticisms were actually directed against the government. More precisely against the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, for not having spoken publicly on the subject.
Israeli attacks in Lebanon began two weeks ago with the deadly explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members, killing dozens and injuring thousands. Since then, the country led by Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to strike Beirut and has also launched attacks on Yemen and Syria – considered enemies and members of the so-called Axis of Resistance led by Iran. In the afternoon, after Tellado’s statements, Iran responded to Israeli attacks by launching hundreds of missiles at Tel Aviv.
Government parties and parliamentary partners have criticized recent Israeli attacks in recent days. But the issue has also entered right-wing forums. That same Monday, former President José María Aznar took advantage of an interview in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to warn that an Israeli defeat in its incursion could affect the “coasts of southern Europe.”
“If Israel failed, parts of the world would be very compromised. If Israel does not win, the next battle will not take place in the Middle East, but on the coasts of southern Europe and this is something we must keep in mind strategically. -he declared during a conference at the headquarters of the Brazilian city’s Commercial Association.
These remarks served as a perch this Tuesday for journalists to question Tellado on the Israeli invasion which he had not mentioned during his first intervention at a press conference. The spokesperson responded by using the party’s argument to talk about the conflict in Gaza: “From the People’s Party, we condemn the escalation of the conflict. We call for the role that our allies, the European Union and NATO, must play, and we clearly demand an immediate ceasefire, the return of all remaining hostages and the establishment of humanitarian aid corridors .”
A sentence with details that do not correspond to what has happened in recent hours in southern Lebanon, where the situation is still uncertain. The unconditional release of hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid, as well as a lasting ceasefire, are the demands that the European Union demanded for the conflict in the Gaza Strip last May.
Asked about this, Tellado avoided for the second time exposing the position of the PP on what has happened in recent hours in the Middle East and limited himself to saying that his party aligns with what its allies say of the European Union. “We all have a responsibility, however minimal, in this de-escalation of the conflict and that is what we want and therefore what we are going to do is maintain the common positions of the European Union and the NATO, that is, on the other hand, what we understand is that the Spanish government should also do it,” he said.
The spokesperson of the PP, as had done a few hours before the general secretary of his party, Cuca Gamarra, used this affair to attack the government and request the urgent appearance of the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, to make taking into account the situation of hundreds of people. of Spanish soldiers deployed on the border between Israel and Lebanon under UN mandate.
Tellado was much more lavish in his comments on Mexico and Venezuela, the PP’s current foreign policy issues. “Neither one nor the other merited a single public statement from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, from the superb and missing Albares,” he recalled when the government summoned the ambassador from Argentina for consultations while now, he says, “he is silent. » and grants. “This is one more example that for this government the priority is Sánchez’s personal problems and not respect for state institutions. Sánchez’s conventions mark domestic policy and everything seems to indicate that they also mark foreign policy,” he concluded.
Unwavering defense of Israel
Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s party has opted since the start of the conflict between Israel and Palestine for a firm defense of the country led by Netanyahu, despite the fact that its attacks against the Gaza Strip, which celebrate their first anniversary this month , devastated this territory. Palestinians and murdered tens of thousands of people, half of whom were boys and girls.
After Hamas attacks on Israeli territory, which killed 1,200 people, the PP defended Israel’s “right” to “pursue terrorists” anywhere, ignoring the first hundreds of Palestinians killed in the response of the Netanyahu government, as well as express requests. of the UN so that Israel does not cut off water and electricity throughout the Gaza Strip. Party spokesperson Borja Sémper went so far as to assert that Gaza is not an occupied territory, but rather an “autonomous territory,” contrary to UN resolutions.
The position has not changed since then and this is why Tellado limited himself this Tuesday to talking about “ceasefire”, “release of hostages” and “humanitarian aid”.
The PP speaks of a position shared with its European allies, the parties that make up the EPP. Just a year ago, a few days after the Hamas attack on Israel, Feijóo met with the leaders of these groups to establish a common position in the conflict which ended with a statement in which they spoke of the Israel’s “sacred” responsibility to defend itself. “We are on the side of Israel. Our support for Israel will never waver. “It is the sacred responsibility of all states, including Israel, to protect their citizens and defend themselves against terrorism, in accordance with international law,” they said in a joint statement. A few months later, the president of the European PP, Manfred Weber, demanded that an agreement with the far right be “pro-Israeli”.
This Wednesday, Alberto Núñez Feijóo broke his silence on the conflict to condemn the Iranian attacks. “I strongly condemn Iran’s massive attack on Israel, almost a year after the 7-O massacre,” Feijóo said in a tweet that directly links Israeli incursions into Lebanon and the Iranian response to the Hamas attack in Lebanon in the fall of 2023. The Iranian regime and its related groups continue to be the main source of instability in the region, as evidenced by this violent escalation which must stop immediately,” the message concludes. Asked about the same question, Gamarra insisted on this line: condemning the Iranian attacks without blaming Israel for entering its northern neighbor. “The future of the region cannot be in the hands of a regime like Iran and terrorist groups,” he said.
