The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced this Thursday that Spain has decided to intervene in the case opened by the International Court of Justice against Israel for the alleged crime of genocide in Gaza. In addition to South Africa, which filed the lawsuit last December, other countries have already appeared in the procedure (Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya and Mexico) or have announced their intention to do so (Ireland, Belgium, Egypt, Turkey, Chile, Maldives and Palestine itself). The head of Spanish diplomacy received Morning Express a few minutes after making the announcement in a press conference called by surprise.
Ask. The PP has already labeled the Government’s decision as electoralist.
Answer. It seems frivolous to me to think that way. Very unfortunately, neither the war, nor the International Court of Justice, nor the civilians of Gaza understand electoral dates. For days, a team of 12 diplomats had been working on my instructions on an analysis of the demand [de Sudáfrica]. I had the oral conclusions, through the Secretary of State, yesterday [por el miércoles]. That’s why we announced it today.
Q.What made you decide to take this step now?
R.What we have seen in recent days is that the precautionary measures, some of which are very important for us and mandatory for all parties, including Israel, which order the halting of military operations in Rafah, allowing the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid or the access of the civilian population to basic supplies (water, food, medicine, energy), are not being provided. The very serious situation in which the Palestinian population finds itself, the fact that military and civil objectives are not differentiated, that hospitals and schools are attacked… We see that there is no will to comply with them.
Q. Is this decision another step in the escalation of diplomatic tension between Spain and Israel?
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R.That is not the spirit or the objective. We are not going against Israel, we seek to stop the war. We believe that this cannot be the way Israelis and Palestinians relate. That is why we support the two-state formula.
Q.How is it going to be formalized?
R.First of all, we are going to present the request for intervention, a document of just over ten pages, and we are already working on a broader report, which can exceed 100 pages. In that document we support the work of the court, without intending to replace it.
Q.When will it be presented?
R.In a matter of a few days.
Q. Precautionary measures are binding, but they are not enforced and the court has no instruments to enforce them.
R.The International Court of Justice is the most important jurisdictional body of the UN, it is in the San Francisco Charter, and the United Nations has bodies for it. The main one is the Security Council. Spain does what is in its power. That is why we have taken this decision, that is why in the EU Council we have decided, unanimously, to summon the Israeli Foreign Minister.
Q.Should Israel be sanctioned if it continues to turn a deaf ear?
R. I am not going to replace the court. But, if there are judicial decisions that are mandatory, we have to do everything possible to ensure that they are complied with.
Q. Two socialist ministers, Teresa Ribera and Margarita Robles, have described what Israel is doing in Gaza as genocide.
R. Both have said it as a personal opinion. I am the Foreign Minister and, in matters of foreign policy, I do not have personal opinions, but rather institutional ones. When I issue an opinion it is that of the Government of Spain. I don’t have that freedom to give my opinion. The only one that can issue a binding and legally sound opinion is the International Court of Justice. Do not forget that South Africa bases its demand on a convention called “on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide.” The prevention part is the one that interests me the most. What I want is for there to be no more bombings on Gaza tomorrow.
Q. Could the court issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?
R.The International Criminal Court, which is different from the International Court of Justice, could. The prosecutor has already requested it from the Court, of which Spain is the founding country and to which we have made important contributions.
Q.Would Spain execute that order if the opportunity arose?
R. I don’t like to make political fiction, but Spain will comply with everything that the judicial bodies of which it is a part dictate.
Q.If the court rules that there is no genocide, technically speaking, will war crimes go unpunished?
R.Let’s not focus on what may take many years. Let’s focus on what the court has already said: the war must stop. There is no possible discussion about that, there are no personal opinions.
Q. And the crimes of Hamas?
R.Of course, you have to chase them. We support the EU sanctions packages against the terrorist organization and will support any additional measures. Hamas is not part of the future of the Middle East.
Q.Israel has ordered the Consulate General of Spain in Jerusalem to cut relations with the Palestinian authorities.
R. The Consulate has opened its doors normally throughout this week. There are privileges and immunities regulated by the Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations that Spain scrupulously applies and demands reciprocity. The Consulate in Jerusalem is, furthermore, unique; It has a historical status that dates back to the mid-19th century, under the Ottoman Empire, to provide protection to pilgrims who came to the Holy Land. In 1986, when Spain established relations with Israel, there was an exchange of diplomatic notes in which it was established that Israel would respect that status.
Q. He has threatened to close it.
R. It would be a serious and very unfriendly measure that would not correspond with the friendship of the Spanish people with the Israeli people nor with the attitude of the Government of Spain towards the State of Israel.
Q. Spain, Norway and Ireland have not responded to the insults that the Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, poured out through social networks when they recognized the Palestinian State.
R. We have made our rejection clear. Yesterday [por el miércoles] I talked to my colleagues [noruego e irlandés]. The fact that these falsehoods and insults have subsided reaffirms us in the idea of not falling into provocations and doing nothing to fuel the escalation. We hope that continues.
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