“At this critical moment, in which we all continue to be shocked by the spiral of violence and bloodshed, it is time for the international community to act bravely,” Pedro Sánchez warned during his first intervention, this Saturday, at the summit that It is held in Cairo to seek solutions to the armed conflict unleashed between Israel and Gaza. “If the international community does not act, the situation could worsen drastically,” he warned. With an urgent appeal against the extension of this conflict in the region: “A small spark can start a fire,” he stressed.
This summit, called by the president of Egypt, Abdel Fatah al Sisi, and named Cairo for peace, “must be the first step to restore peace in the region and break this terrible cycle of violence,” Sánchez urged.
In fact, during the meeting in the Egyptian capital, Sánchez held a meeting with the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to convey his "support and solidarity with the suffering of the population in Gaza." The president has confirmed that Spain will increase humanitarian aid and cooperation with Palestine and has insisted that "the future in peace and security depends on the two-state solution."
As acting head of the Executive, and acting president of the Council of the European Union, in his speech he called on the international community to focus on both the urgent and the important. And he has highlighted three priorities, of utmost urgency at this time. The first is to protect the civilian population and guarantee access for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, "of sufficient magnitude to respond to the needs of the Palestinian population", with a "humanitarian ceasefire", as previously demanded. the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres.
Second, he has demanded, “Hamas must release all hostages, immediately and unconditionally.” “We have to guarantee that all hostages, both Israelis and other nationalities, can return safely to their families,” he claimed.
And ultimately, he has insisted on trying to prevent the conflict from leading to a regional crisis. “We must use all our political influence, with all relevant actors, to avoid an escalation of the conflict,” he urged.
Sánchez has assured that Spain's position regarding this conflict is "crystal clear", aligned with that signed last Sunday by the European Council. A position that strongly condemns the Hamas attacks perpetrated against Israel, and that recognizes the right of the Jewish State to defend itself, but "in strict compliance with international law and international humanitarian law."
Along with what is urgent, the Spanish president has proposed acting on what is important.
“And this means offering the Palestinian people, as well as the Israeli people, a perspective of reliable peace, which must be the materialization of the two-State solution, two States, Palestine and Israel, coexisting in peace and security,” he said. defended.
“For too many years, the international community thought we could live without paying much attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But recent events have clearly proven that we were wrong. And today we cannot postpone a solution,” Sánchez argued. “The international community has shown in the past that if there is political will, there is a future,” she noted.
In this sense, he has referred to the 1991 Madrid conference and the Oslo agreements as “good examples that we can provide hope.” “We must take advantage of every opportunity to promote dialogue and peace,” he stressed.
“What we need today is to protect all civilians. To those who are being held hostage and have to be returned to their families and to those who are suffering the horror in Gaza. And the only way to achieve this is with more humanitarian aid and a humanitarian ceasefire. But, at the same time, we must strive to lay the foundations for two States, Israel and Palestine, that respect each other and coexist in security and peace," the Spanish president said. To set “the course of peace in the Middle East.” “A peace that guarantees that the dramatic events we witness today will not be repeated,” he concluded.
Before the start of this Cairo summit, Sánchez held a previous meeting with the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres; the president of the European Council, Charles Michel; and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
