Albares warns Israel that he is not going to intimidate Spain from recognizing Palestine and asking for a ceasefire

BRUSSELS, May 26. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, defended this Sunday the step of recognizing the State of Palestine, as a boost to the path of two States and as a means to ensure the future and prosperity of the Middle East, after pointing out that Israel is not going to intimidate Spain from taking this step and calling for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip.

At a press conference from Brussels, where he met with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohamed Mustafa, the Foreign Minister denounced Israel’s “scandalous and execrable” video in which he intersperses images of flamenco dancers with attacks by Hamas and in which addresses directly the President of the Government with the message “Pedro Sánchez, Hamas thanks you for your service.”

In this sense, he has criticized the “hurtful use” of Spanish culture by Tel Aviv but warned that “no one is going to intimidate the decision to recognize Palestine.” “We are not going to fall into provocations that divert us from the goal of peace,” he responded.

Albares has announced that he will discuss the issue with Ireland and Norway, as well as the summons of their ambassadors after the decision announced this week. “It was totally unacceptable and we are going to analyze it together,” he said.

For his part, the Palestinian prime minister has thanked the step taken jointly by Madrid, Dublin and Oslo, ensuring that he wants to see other European countries follow in their wake. “This may encourage others to take this brave step. Some countries have doubts but we ask that they make the decision as soon as possible to end the injustice that the Palestinian people have been experiencing for weeks,” he said.

Mustafa explained that he takes recognition as a “responsibility” to work together and “transform a legal and political position into something concrete on the ground.” In his view, recognition is a way to keep the peace process and the two-state solution alive. “Recognition is the right thing now. It is not the end of anything but the beginning of a new phase”, he has summarized.

Regarding the EU’s position on the conflict in Gaza, the Palestinian leader stressed that it is time to “go beyond” condemning the offensive. “We must raise our voices more and demand a ceasefire. It is a matter of time to end the war and every day we lose hundreds of people,” he indicated.

The meeting took place 48 hours before the formal recognition of the Palestinian State by the Government. This meeting will be followed by another on Monday morning, before the start of the meeting of EU foreign ministers, with their counterparts from Ireland, Micheal Martin, and from Norway, Espen Garth Eide, the two countries that will recognize as Spain to Palestine on Tuesday, May 28.