May 28, 2024 will from now on be a notable date in the history of Spanish foreign policy. The Government has officially recognized the State of Palestine in a decision formally adopted by the Council of Ministers this Tuesday and of which the president, Pedro Sánchez, already informed the Congress of Deputies last week.
In an institutional statement at the Moncloa Palace, Sánchez justified this decision as “the only way to move towards a solution that we all recognize as the only possible one: that of a State of Palestine that coexists alongside the State of Israel in peace and in safety”.
The president has committed to joining efforts with the International Community in the search for that state to be viable. “It must be viable, with Gaza and the West Bank connected by a corridor and with East Jerusalem as the capital. And with the Palestinian Authority as the legitimate government. A vision that is fully aligned with United Nations resolutions and with the position maintained by the EU. That is why we will not recognize changes to the 1967 border lines that are not agreed upon by the two parties,” he announced.
Following Israel’s reaction to Spain’s decision, the head of the Executive recalled that the Government is not taking this step “against anyone.” “Even less against Israel, a friendly people that we respect and appreciate and with whom we want to maintain the best possible relationship,” he emphasized.
In fact, Pedro Sánchez has insisted that the recognition of the State of Palestine is also a sign of “our frontal, resounding rejection of Hamas, which is against the two-state solution. Spain condemned from the first moment and with complete force the terrorist attacks of October 7, and that condemnation is the resounding expression of our absolute commitment to the fight against terrorism,” he claimed.
During his statement, the president stated that from today Spain will defend “three priorities” in the resolution of the conflict in the Middle East, whose latest escalation of violence began on October 7 with the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israeli soil and continued later. with the massacre that the Netanyahu government perpetrates in Gaza as retaliation.
“To put an end to an unprecedented crisis in the Gaza Strip, we call for a permanent ceasefire, the entry of humanitarian aid and the release of hostages by Hamas,” Sánchez claimed, emphasizing to the Palestinian Authority as a “partner for peace.”
“The decision that Spain adopts today is based on respect for international law and the defense of the international order based on rules, principles that always guide us whatever the context, both in Gaza and in Ukraine,” he expressed.
Sánchez has assured that with the step taken Spain assumes its “responsibility in the search for peace, security and prosperity of all peoples, as indicated in the preamble of our Constitution. We act in accordance with what is expected of a great country like Spain,” she concluded.
Spain thus joins the more than 140 countries around the world that already recognize Palestine. At the same time as our country, Norway and Ireland have taken the step. Israel, which has already recalled its ambassadors in the three countries for consultations, threatens more serious consequences in the future in the form of retaliation.
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