The foreign ministers and prime ministers of several Arab countries went to Madrid this Wednesday to personally thank the Spanish government for yesterday's recognition of the Palestinian State. Everyone has had words of gratitude and also wants to continue working together to stop the war in Gaza and achieve a just peace in Palestine.
In a joint appearance with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, they said they hope other countries will follow the example of Spain, whose decision to recognize the Palestinian State has been described as “correct”, “brave”, “historical”. .
The Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of Palestine and Qatar, Mohammad Mustafa and Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, have come to Madrid; and the Foreign Ministers of Jordan, Ayman Safadi; from Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, and from Türkiye, Hakan Fidan; alongside the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, who represents Muslim countries.
“This recognition supports our determination to continue fighting for a just and lasting peace,” said the Palestinian Prime Minister, thanking Spain on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas' government and the Palestinian people.
For his part, the Saudi diplomat thanked “Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia for taking the right decision at the right time,” as the “catastrophe in Gaza” continues, where more than 36,000 people have been killed since last month by the brutal Israeli offensive. “We need an immediate ceasefire, the arrival of humanitarian aid and we need hope,” Bin Farhan added.
Albares had previously reported that Slovenia will recognize the Palestinian state tomorrow, Thursday, and hoped that other European countries would do so, following in the footsteps of Spain, Norway and Ireland. A total of eleven European countries recognize it so far, including the last three countries to recognize it They formalized last week's decision this Tuesday.
“Immediate ceasefire”
All Arab and Turkish representatives supported the call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as did Albares, who also demanded the end of the offensive in the city of Rafah and the observance of the advice from the International Criminal Court (ICJ)who last week ordered Israel to halt its military operations in that area.
“The aggression in Gaza must end and it must end immediately,” said the head of Jordanian diplomacy, stating that “Spain's role is essential” in this process. Moreover, he believed that the Spanish government's move puts us “on the road to peace” once again. This path involves the creation of two states, one Palestinian and the other Israeli, coexisting in peace and security, according to the generally accepted formula of the two states, to which all those present referred.
Safadi has warned that “the future of the region cannot be left in the hands of Israel's extremist government,” while at the same time “unethical attacks against the government and people of Spain” of Israel in recent days.
Albares today made no comments on the diplomatic tensions with Benjamin Netanyahu's executive power and stated that Spain will continue “to work on the implementation of the two-state solution, so that more states join”, but also on “the normalization of relations between the Arab countries with Israel,” an issue his colleagues did not mention. Only Jordan recognizes the State of Israel among the countries that have come to Madrid, although their relations are not good, especially during the current massacre in Gaza.
The Turkish Foreign Minister thanked “the Spanish friends for this decision” and for their “great contribution to international peace and security.” Fidan also stated that Turkey “will continue to work tirelessly towards the two-state solution.” However, Ankara does not recognize the State of Israel and has downgraded its diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza.