The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, again asked this Monday for an end to arms sales to Israel – which Spain supplied after October 7, 2023, although the government claims that these were commercial agreements previous –, in the midst of the offensive of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu not only in Gaza – 43,000 dead – but also in Lebanon, where attacks against UN peacekeepers deployed in the south of the country have been repeated these last days.
“The international community must immediately suspend arms deliveries to Israel, as Spain has done, for a very simple but also compelling reason, namely that without weapons, there is no war,” he said. declared Pedro Sánchez in his speech at the forum. World in progress, organized by the PRISA Group. “And for the same reason,” continued Sánchez, “I believe that the European Commission, the government of all Europeans, must respond once and for all to the formal request that two European countries, Spain and Ireland, have formulated already nine years ago. month, and suspend the association agreement with the Israeli government if it turns out, as everything suggests, that human rights are being violated. And for the same reason, the international community must strengthen its support for the United Nations.”
Sánchez recalled that the UN mission in Lebanon is commanded by a Spaniard, General Aroldo Lázaro, and that Spain provides 650 soldiers: “I also want to tell you from here that we condemn, because it cannot be otherwise, and we will “We continue to strongly condemn the statement made yesterday by Prime Minister Netanyahu, because there will be no withdrawal from UNIFIL, because our commitment to international legality has more than sense today more than ever, after seeing what is happening on the ground.”
“It is time for the international community to wake up,” said Sánchez: “We are acting with enormous empathy towards the Israeli population for what they have suffered, but also with determination against a government and against a Prime Minister, in Netanyahu’s case. , which has only one goal: imposing a new regional order by force, and a new regional order by force will only bring more disorder and more destruction to the Middle East and, therefore, more of instability in the world. The international order must be based on the standards we all set for ourselves, not on the strength of a few.”
The President of the Government also declared that “there will be no lasting and just peace without tackling the root causes of the conflict and without opting for the only possible solution, that of two States, Israel and Palestine, capable of live together in peace. I am clear on Netanyahu’s prime ministerial roadmap: destroy the two-state political solution with action. “What is happening in the Middle East is an international order in which international legality is violated and not respected by the countries that are part of the United Nations Security Council.”
Division and EU blockade against Israel
However, the EU continues to face the conflict in the Middle East with division, reports Irene Castro. The 27 took more than 48 hours to agree on a common position condemning Israeli attacks against the UNIFIL peace mission in which 16 member states participate. On Sunday evening, the High Representative, Josep Borrell, achieved the required unanimity on foreign policy and issued a statement in which the tone against Israel was raised compared to previous texts by warning that the attacks against the peacekeepers constitute a violation of international law.
“They are completely unacceptable. The attacks must stop immediately,” says the EU, demanding an explanation from Israel and a “thorough investigation” into what happened. “We urge all parties to fully respect their obligations to ensure the security of UNIFIL personnel at all times and to enable UNIFIL to continue to fulfill its mandate,” reads the text on troops deployed to southern Lebanon.
“We are deeply concerned by the continued rocket fire into Israel by Hezbollah, which must stop, as well as attacks by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in densely populated areas of Lebanon, which are causing numerous civilian casualties. and cause numerous civilian casualties. displacement of many people. We urge all parties to respect international humanitarian law, in all circumstances,” the statement also said, reiterating the need for a ceasefire.
“The situation in the Middle East continues to worsen,” warned Mr. Borrell before the meeting with EU foreign ministers this Monday in Luxembourg. “It is not the UN Secretary General who decides whether this mission remains or not, it is the Security Council which makes these kinds of decisions, so stop blaming António Guterres,” he added about Benjamin Netanyahu’s belligerence against the UN chief. United Nations, which he declared persona non grata.
“I would have liked to react more quickly to something that was obvious,” admitted the head of European diplomacy about the difficulty of reaching a common position.
Asked about the position of Pedro Sánchez and Emmanuel Macron on the implementation of an arms embargo against Israel, Borrell – who has previously applauded this position – admitted that member states “are strongly divided” and left this possibility in the hands of everyone. governments, since it is a “national competence”. For this measure to be taken throughout the EU, there would have to be unanimity, which seems impossible.
