The PP spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Carlos Floriano, would surely find it strange to talk about ETA during a plenary session on the Middle East. He was therefore inspired by another of the favorite subjects of the Spanish right: Venezuela. Thus, to respond to the intervention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who defended Spanish policy towards Gaza, Israel and Lebanon: recognition of the Palestinian State, support for ‘URNWA, the condemnation of the Israeli massacre in Gaza and the Hamas attacks of October 7.
But Floriano began talking about “commission diplomacy,” referring to alleged payments linked to Víctor Aldama, commissionaire of the “Koldo case,” for his efforts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. “The commission diplomacy that she practices embarrasses, is irresponsible and leaves us absent from the international concert”; » said Floriano.
And, before moving on to the last minutes to talk about Israel, Floriano entered fully into one of the popular classics: Venezuela. Thus, he accused the Spanish government of “removing the winner of the elections from the country” instead of “removing the loser of the elections from power”, forgetting of course that the one who asked the government for help to leave the country country was himself Edmundo González and that, in any case, even the most furious adversaries of Nicolas Maduro, such as Argentina or the United States, have not managed to remove the Venezuelan president from power, each with his own strategy.
FINALLY, Floriano concluded by attacking the Spanish decision to recognize the Palestinian state, like more than 140 countries around the world: “The recognition of the Palestinian state was a maneuver before the European elections to erode Sumar, and nothing has happened. advance. Neither in the ceasefire, nor in the release of hostages or humanitarian corridors. “It was a failure that isolated us, it was a step to obtain political gain.”
Sumar’s spokesman, Agustín Santos Maraver, said recognition of Palestine “has not achieved peace in Gaza, it is not enough.” It is not enough to guarantee that weapons are not sold, we must decree an arms embargo, apply international law to Spanish companies, impose sanctions on settlers who violate humanitarian law and exercise diplomatic reciprocity with Israel. »
Albares: “No country has done as much as Spain for peace”
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares tried to justify Spanish policy: “I will say it clearly: no country has done as much as Spain for peace in the Middle East. We have done this in all areas: with political and diplomatic initiatives, with initiatives to end the war and achieve peace; with actions to fight impunity and defend international law, with commitment and action on humanitarian aid.
“Faced with the disinformation that I read and hear,” Albares said, “I want to clarify that Spain does not sell weapons to Israel, since October 7, 2023, Spain does not grant new licenses for the export of weapons to Israel and we monitor the precedent so that no sales take place. Additionally, we do not allow ships carrying weapons to Israel to call at our ports. ports. I repeat, Spain does not sell or authorize the transit of weapons with Israel as their final destination.
In any case, what Albares has not announced is a total and formal embargo, and he has not explained whether he examines every ship that stops in Spain en route to Israel.
“What world are we going to leave to our sons and daughters?” asked ERC MP Jordi Salvador: “We know that many Spanish banks finance the purchase of weapons from Israel, we must intervene. On the other hand, will it reach the 2% armaments requested by NATO or will we exceed them?
The Minister of Foreign Affairs declared that “Spain supports the work of the International Court of Justice and is committed to international justice, and that is why I announce that we have just approved an additional contribution of 1.6 million euros to strengthen its work.” Thanks to him, our country will have allocated more than 8 million to the International Criminal Court since last year, which places us among the top ten contributors to this organization.”
“Today, here, I would like all groups to support us in these legal actions,” he said, referring to right-wing groups. Albares, at the same time, announced that Spain would contribute to UNRWA, a United Nations organization persecuted by Israel, “for an additional 4 million euros.” Its defense is the defense not only of the dignity and rights of Palestinian refugees recognized in various General Assembly resolutions, but also of international law and the United Nations, an essential system for ensuring global peace and security.
Junts MP Marta Madrenas Mir said: “International treaties or humanitarian law can never be violated. We have thousands of civilian casualties. Beyond recognition of the Palestinian state, what will be the next step?
