Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares calls for sanctions against Israel to end the Gaza war, ahead of a high-level summit in Madrid gathering European and Arab nations.
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Sunday advocated for international sanctions against Israel, citing the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza. His remarks come as Madrid prepares to host a high-level summit uniting European and Arab nations largely critical of Israel’s military operations.
“The international community must consider sanctions, we must do everything, consider everything to stop this war,” Albares stated in an interview with France Info, as quoted by JNS.
Albares further asserted, “Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza massively, unimpeded, neutrally, so that it is not Israel who decides who can eat and who cannot.” He controversially claimed that the war “no longer has any goal.”
Spain is set to welcome representatives from 20 countries and major international bodies to the summit in Madrid, which aims to push for an immediate ceasefire and revive the concept of a two-state solution.
Albares’ comments come amid tensions between Israel and Spain, which has been a vocal critic of Israel’s counterterrorism operations in the Gaza Strip.
In November of 2023, Spain’s Ambassador to Israel was summoned by the Foreign Ministry after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez claimed that “Israel is violating international law and is carrying out indiscriminate killings in Gaza.”
Last April, Sanchez criticized what he called Israel’s “disproportionate response” in the Gaza war, saying it risks “destabilizing the Middle East, and as a consequence, the entire world”.
The Madrid conference is slated to include delegates from the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and various nations such as Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Norway, and Ireland, signaling a unified front of nations applying pressure on Israel.
