In the final act of his visit to the Middle East together with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo at the Rafah border crossing, which connects Egypt with Gaza and where more than 700 trucks carrying humanitarian aid are waiting to enter the strip, Sánchez said he has submitted his proposal to recognize the both states Israel and Palestine reaffirmed.
“It is time for the international community and the European Union to recognize the State of Palestine once and for all. It is something that is worthwhile, that is important enough and that the EU must do together. But if that is the case, that is not the case. In this case, Spain will make its own decisions,” he added.
In addition, the Prime Minister hopes that the temporary ceasefire in Gaza that began this Friday will be the “prelude to a permanent solution to level the ground” and “permanently” resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
A permanent ceasefire
“A ceasefire is a good step, but it is not enough,” Sánchez warned during an appearance with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo at the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border, which was his final act on the tour as part of the agenda he has made through this land, Israel and Palestine.
In an intervention in English, Sánchez called for a permanent ceasefire and said he expected Spain to send some humanitarian aid to Egypt to support Gaza evacuees, with a total of four tons of medical equipment. Come this week.
“Hard reprimand conversation”
Just a few hours later, the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium following statements by the President of the Spanish Government and the Belgian Prime Minister that Israel considered this “support for terrorism.”
“We condemn the false statements made by the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium that they support terrorism, and as a result of their words, their ambassadors will be invited to a tough reprimand interview,” Minister Eli Cohen wrote on his X account, formerly Twitter. “Israel acts in accordance with international law and combats a murderous terrorist organization worse than ISIS that commits war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he added. “We will continue fighting after the ceasefire until the Hamas government in Gaza is eliminated and all abductees are released.”
Sánchez and De Croo visited the area where, on the Egyptian side, more than 700 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza are waiting to enter the Gaza Strip.
A tour in which they were accompanied by a representative of the Red Crescent who explained to them the problems that exist for this humanitarian aid to reach its goal.