“It’s execrable, but they’re not going to intimidate us”

“No one is going to intimidate us in our firm decision to recognize the state of Palestine, nor are we going to fall into provocations that divert us from our goal of peace,” Albares said at a joint press conference in Brussels with the Palestinian prime minister. , Mohammad Mustafa.

“I find the video scandalous and execrable. It is scandalous because it is from the entire known world, especially from my Israeli colleague, who The Government of Spain has condemned Hamas terrorism from the first moment and in all its actions,” maintains the head of Spanish diplomacy. “The people of Israel are friends of the Spanish people,” he stressed.

[Israel reprocha a España que reconozca a Palestina: “Pedro Sánchez, Hamás agradece tus servicios”]

“And I find it execrable because of the use that you want, even if you don’t get it, hurtful of one of the greatest symbols of Spanish culture such as the Flemishof which by the way I am especially proud because I love it,” indicated the Foreign Minister.

“As soon as I have a free hour, I will go see a flamenco show to vindicate it. Because it is what the world needs right now: a universal art, an open music, a music that dialogues and therefore a universal language that brings us closer to all the peoples of the world and that inspires us,” says Albares.

Israel has released similar videos about Ireland and Norway, the other two European countries that have announced that they will also recognize the State of Israel next Tuesday, May 28. Besides, The Government of Benjamin Netanyahu has released images of the ambassadors of the three countries while they were shown images of the October 7 attacks, in retaliation for their announcement about Palestine.

Albares has described this filming as “totally unacceptable” and explained that he will meet this Monday with his counterparts from Ireland and Norway to agree on a common response.

In his joint appearance with Mustafa, the Foreign Minister assured that the recognition of the Palestinian State “is justice for the Palestinians, It is the best guarantee of security for Israeland it is essential to achieve peace in the region.”

Genocide accusation

Albares has avoided explicitly supporting the accusation of “genocide” against Israel made this Saturday by the Minister of Defense, Margaret Roblesof whom he has said that she is “a judge very committed to human rights” who is expressing her opinion.

The Foreign Minister assures that Spain fully supports the work of the International Court of Justice, which is currently studying the accusations of genocide against Israel and has just ordered Tel Aviv to stop its offensive in Rafah, south of Gaza. “This decision is mandatory,” he said, while demanding an immediate ceasefire and the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid.

When asked about the borders of the Palestinian State, Albares indicated that ““To recognize a State it is not necessary to recognize borders.”. “Many of the States that Spain and the international community recognize have territorial disputes and therefore do not have really defined borders,” she concluded.

For his part, the Palestinian prime minister has thanked Spain for recognizing the Palestinian State, but has asked the rest of the member countries of the European Union to do the same. “I understand that some countries have doubts“not because they think that the Palestinians do not deserve their own state, but because they think that this must come at the end of the peace process,” Mustafa said.

“What we tell them is that it is very important to keep the peace process alive. And to maintain the two-state solution as a viable option in the future, the right thing to do is to carry out recognition now,” argues the Palestinian prime minister.