Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, who has acted as spokesman for the group of Arab-Islamic and European countries working for the application of the two-state formula in the Arab-Israeli conflict, issued a warning this Friday in Madrid: “If the parties do not want to achieve peace, the international community must exercise its responsibility and move forward anyway.” Diplomatic sources recall that on May 24, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to “immediately stop” its military operation on Rafah (Gaza) to prevent genocide and that this mandate is mandatory. However, Israel has ignored it without the international community reacting.
Albares appeared flanked by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, the secretaries general of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as representatives of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Slovenia and Norway. The group held its second meeting since Spain recognised the Palestinian State last May.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two of the countries present at the Santa Cruz Palace, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, do not recognise the State of Israel, although the Saudi minister supports the formula of two states, in peace and security. “We met to try to push once again for an end to the war in Gaza and a way out of the endless spiral of violence between Palestinians and Israelis,” said the minister.
Albares said he hopes that one day Israel will be able to sit at that working table and he is in favour of the Arab countries participating in the meeting that have not yet recognised the State of Israel eventually doing so.
A solution seems far away and hopes have faded for a short-term ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 41,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis have already died. Josep Borrell himself, who was present at the meeting, has just returned from a tour of the Middle East where he said he had witnessed “further escalation, more regional spread of the Gaza war and more widespread human suffering.”
Knowing what’s happening outside means understanding what’s going to happen inside, so don’t miss anything.
KEEP READING
Albares has defended the creation of a Palestinian State alongside Israel and for both to coexist peacefully to end the conflict in the region. It is the formula that the international community has unsuccessfully supported for decades. “The application of the two-State solution is the only way to guarantee a fair and lasting peace in the region through the peaceful and secure coexistence of the State of Palestine and the State of Israel. A sovereign, realistic Palestinian State, with recognized borders contiguous to those of Israel, which includes Gaza and the West Bank and which has Jerusalem as its capital. We all agree on this,” he said in his speech. ““The war has to stop now,” he insisted.
The minister revealed that he had held talks with Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohamed Mustafa on the High Level Meeting that will take place in Spain before the end of the year and which will be attended by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority.
Follow all the international information atFacebook andXor inour weekly newsletter.
