"The conflict will not be resolved on its own, peace and security in the region will not be possible if we do not offer a horizon of hope to the Palestinian people", warned Pedro Sánchez in the institutional statement he made last night from de la Moncloa, after participating by videoconference in the extraordinary meeting of the European Council to analyze the clash between Israel and Hamas. An appointment during which the news of a bombardment that would have caused hundreds of victims in a hospital in Gaza was confirmed.
The acting president of the Spanish Government called for an end to "the escalation of violence", and opted for "the only way to resolve a conflict that has been entangled for more than 70 years".
"This way is the two-state solution, the recognition of Palestine as a state", he stressed. "Only through the two-state solution will it be possible to stop the violence and definitively solve a conflict that causes so much suffering", he insisted.
As acting president of the Council of the EU, Sánchez reminded his counterparts that on November 27 a new meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean will take place in Barcelona, a forum in which "Israel and Palestine sit on equal terms ". And he proposed that this summit in Barcelona, heir to the process started in 1995, will be "a good opportunity to take advantage of it" and resume a dialogue between Israel and Palestine.
The Spanish president advocated for the unity of the EU "in the face of a crisis of this importance". "Our strength comes from union, and today, in the face of the enormous humanitarian crisis we are witnessing, the unity of Europe is the best contribution we have to make for the benefit of the stability of the international community," he said.
Spain, he assured, worked actively so that the EU could establish a common position in the face of this crisis. Which he summarized in four priorities. The first is "a resounding condemnation of the horrific terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Israel". The second is "the demand for the immediate release, without conditions, of all the hostages held by Hamas". Including, as he confirmed, that of the Spaniard Iván Illarramendi.
The third key to the common position is "the recognition of Israel's right to defend itself in strict respect of international law, and in particular, international humanitarian law". Finally, Sánchez remarked that Israel "must guarantee, at all times, the access of humanitarian aid and the protection of the civilian population in Gaza".
The president defended the urgency of attending to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, "and to avoid whether or not an escalation that causes the extension of the conflict in the region". And he announced that Spain will provide more than 4 million additional euros to Palestine until the end of the year. Spain's humanitarian and cooperation aid to the Palestinian people in 2023 will thus rise to almost 21.5 million, 30% more than in 2022.
Before participating in the European Council meeting, Sánchez had a conversation with the Egyptian president, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, whom he thanked "for his leadership in the search for a solution and that humanitarian aid can reach Gaza as the sooner the better”.
