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Tag: Spain

  • Shameful U-turn as UK and France abandon plans to recognise Palestinian state at peace conference

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    This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

    France’s President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech in front of humanitarian aid destined to Gaza, at the Egyptian Red Crescent warehouse in Egypt’s northeastern city of Arish in the north of the Sinai peninsula, about 55 kilometres west of the border with the Gaza Strip, on 8 April 2025. [LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]

    Plans by the UK and France to recognise a Palestinian state at an upcoming international peace conference in New York this month have been shelved, marking yet another U-turn just weeks after both governments signalled support for Palestinian self-determination in response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ongoing ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank.

    The three-day conference, scheduled between 17-20 June and co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, was initially framed as a diplomatic breakthrough that could see major Western powers recognise Palestinian statehood as a matter of principle. However, diplomats have now confirmed to the Guardian that the event will instead focus on vague “steps towards recognition.”

    The reversal comes despite recent pledges by both London and Paris to re-evaluate their approach in light of Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza, which has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and the aggressive settlement expansion in the illegally occupied West Bank. Israeli officials have recently approved 22 new settlements, in what Defence Minister Yoav Gallant described as “a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

    Read: US warns UK, France against recognising Palestinian State

    French President Emmanuel Macron had previously declared Palestinian statehood a “moral duty and political requirement,” but according to officials who briefed Israeli counterparts this week, recognition will no longer be announced at the conference. Instead, it is being repositioned as a distant outcome contingent on a series of conditions, including a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli captives, and the restructuring of the Palestinian Authority to exclude Hamas.

    The UK government, which has faced increasing pressure from MPs to take stronger measures against Israel, has taken a similar position.

    According to the Guardian, British and French officials now view recognition not as a moral position or legal obligation, but as a reward contingent on the compliance of Palestinians with a framework shaped largely by Israel’s priorities. The Israeli public, however, has largely abandoned the idea of a two-state solution. According to figures cited by the Guardian, just 20 per cent of Israelis support the creation of a Palestinian state, while a staggering 56 per cent of Jewish Israelis back the “transfer” of Palestinian citizens of Israel to other countries, an explicit endorsement of ethnic cleansing.

    Meanwhile, public support for Palestinian statehood continues to grow across Europe. Ireland, Spain and Norway formally recognised Palestine last year, and several Conservative MPs in Britain, including former Attorney General Sir Jeremy Wright, have broken ranks to endorse recognition.

    Read: Labour MPs push Foreign Office to back Palestinian statehood at French-Saudi UN summit

    Saudi Arabia, the conference’s co-host, has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, and there appears little prospect of Riyadh normalising relations with Tel Aviv. Analysts note that France’s vision of mutual recognition, Western states recognising Palestine in exchange for Arab normalisation with Israel, is rapidly collapsing in the face of Israeli escalation and public outrage across the Arab world.

    Palestinians and their supporters are likely to view this latest shift as yet another instance of Western duplicity, offering rhetorical support while continuing to shield Israel from accountability. The Elders, a group of former global statesmen, urged Macron in an open letter to treat recognition as a “transformative step toward peace,” and not to view the self-determination of Palestinians as a chip to be negotiated with Israel.

    Read: 80% of Israeli Jews support US President Trump’s proposal to ethnically cleanse Gaza, survey finds

    This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

  • Spain pushes for 2-state solution at international meeting on Gaza in Madrid

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    This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

    Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares speaks to press ahead of the international meeting to discuss ending the war between Israel and Hamas, and advancing toward a two-state solution, in Madrid, Spain on May 25, 2025. [Şenhan Bolelli – Anadolu Agency]

    Spain’s foreign minister insisted Sunday that the two-state solution is the only alternative to conflict between Israel and Palestine and is pushing for concrete measures to advance it at an international meeting in Madrid, Anadolu reports.

    “What’s the alternative? Kill all the Palestinians? Send them, I don’t know where—to the moon?” Jose Manuel Albares said in a speech ahead of the meeting.

    Madrid is hosting a group of 20 countries—foreign representatives from European nations, Muslim countries, and Brazil—as well as international organizations to discuss ending the war, Israel’s siege on Gaza, and advancing toward a two-state solution.

    “Gaza is an open wound for humanity… There are no words to describe what is happening in Gaza—but just because there are no words doesn’t mean we will remain silent,” said Albares.

    The number of countries in the so-called Madrid Plus Group has doubled, said Albares, with countries like Germany, Italy, France, and Portugal, which did not attend the first meeting, showing up on Sunday.

    READ: Israeli army controls 77% of Gaza: Media office

    “There’s a lot of diplomatic muscle here today,” said Albares. “We are different governments coming together, but we all believe in the same principles and are not resigned to accepting violence as the natural way for Israelis and Palestinians to relate.”

    He said that “time is running out” for a two-state solution, but the Madrid meeting aims to clarify “concrete steps” to turn the situation around for the sake of both Palestinians and Israelis.

    Albares said Spain will push for measures to end the war, including suspending the EU-Israel trade agreement, an EU-wide arms embargo on Israel, sanctioning more individuals linked to the conflict, and “making the two-state solution impossible.”

    Spain will propose that the upcoming UN meeting on June 16 be used as a “great movement for the recognition of a Palestinian state,” he added.​​​​​​​

    “Then, around a year later, we can hold another international meeting with Palestine as a full state with complete rights within the UN,” he said.

    READ: UN food agency calls for ‘sustained, daily’ flow of aid to stave off starvation in Gaza

    This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    Vote For Genocide Vote Labour.
    Vote For Genocide Vote Labour.
    UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE
    UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE

  • Activists urge Spanish government to implement on Israel arms embargo immediately

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    Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    Palestine solidarity rally in Spain, May 2025. Source: Communist Party of Spain/X

    Following Parliament’s motion for an arms embargo on Israel, activists are pressuring the Sánchez government to turn words into action on Gaza genocide

    On Tuesday, May 20, a majority of representatives in the Spanish Parliament voted in favor of a motion calling for an arms embargo on Israel. Spearheaded by the progressive blocs Podemos, Sumar, and the Republican Left of Catalonia, everyone but the right-wing supported the motion – including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE).

    While the news undoubtedly marks an important achievement for the months-long grassroots Palestine solidarity mobilizations in Europe and beyond, many activists caution against interpreting it as a decisive sign of Spain’s concrete commitment to halting the genocide in Gaza. “The Spanish government has the power to introduce a full arms embargo on Israel as early as tomorrow via Royal Decree,” warned the End Arms Trade with Israel campaign, which has rallied behind this demand since 2024 with the backing of over 600 organizations. “Why hasn’t it acted? What’s holding it back?”

    Business as usual beneath the surface?

    Since October 7, 2023, Sánchez and his cabinet have made several statements clearly more critical of Israel than those of most other European governments. In contrast to declarations by high-level European officials like Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas, who continue to invoke “Israel’s right to self-defense” even as it starves tens of thousands of children and obliterates healthcare infrastructure, Spain’s rhetoric has, at times, sounded outright progressive. The Prime Minister recently suggested expelling Israel from the Eurovision contest – a topic surprisingly dear to many Europeans – and his administration claimed to have ceased trading in military goods with the occupation power in late 2023. However, this claim has been refuted by multiple reports and port calls by ships transporting military or dual-use goods to Israel.

    Further doubt has been cast on the government’s narrative by the Ministry of Defense, whose representatives recently said that implementing a full embargo would be “difficult in practice” due to the importance of Israeli technology in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. These sources have essentially admitted that they view the arms embargo debate as more politically symbolic than practically feasible.

    Read more: Spain to block Maersk ships bound to Israel after pressure from activists

    Contrary to the government’s progressive image and declarations, “Spain has never imported more [from Israel] than after October 7, 2023,” the Delàs Center for Peace Studies warned in a recent report. “Since October 7, Israeli defense and security companies, their subsidiaries, or third-party companies linked to Israeli products have been awarded at least 46 contracts by Spanish institutions, with a total value more than €1.044 million.”

    While Palestine solidarity groups identified some of these contracts and pushed against them, the scale of trade between Spain and Israel throughout the genocide has remained significant, according to updates from Delàs Center. Even now, as the parliamentary debate on introducing an arms embargo moves forward, warnings continue about ships carrying ammunition and other potentially military-use equipment bound for Israel via Spanish ports. One such vessel, the Danica Violet, is expected to pass through Cartagena in the coming days.

    “Contracts with the Israeli arms industry remain in force and have yet to be canceled. Weapons stained with blood continue to pass through our ports and airports. We continue to finance and facilitate genocide, occupation, and apartheid in Palestine,” wrote the End Arms Trade with Israel campaign.

    Palestine solidarity movement to push for more than tokenism

    The campaign and its supporters have reiterated calls for the government to act urgently and decisively by imposing a full arms embargo immediately. Similar demands have been voiced in neighboring countries, where political leaders have recently signaled minor shifts in their approach to Israel. Following announcements by British, Canadian, and French leaders that they would consider introducing sanctions on Israel if it failed to halt illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, Palestine solidarity groups warned that such measures would be nowhere near sufficient. “While these statements may reflect a symbolic political shift, they are far too late and fall dangerously short of meeting these states’ legal obligations under international law, including the Genocide Convention and the Apartheid Convention,” said the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC).

    “We will continue to organize and build people power to transform tokenism and empty threats into tangible and effective accountability measures, starting with a two-way military embargo and full-scale trade and diplomatic sanctions,” the BNC stated.

    Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
    Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA

  • Outrage After Israeli Occupation Forces Shoot Live Rounds at Foreign Diplomats in West Bank

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    Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Members of an international diplomatic delegation scramble for cover after coming under Israeli fire during a May 21, 2025 visit to the besieged Jenin refugee camp in the illegally occupied West Bank of Palestine. (Photo: Mohammad Ateeq/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)

    Among those shot at were representatives of three nations that threatened “concrete actions” if Israel doesn’t end its assault and siege on Gaza and others that support a genocide case against the country.

    Israeli occupation forces fired what they called “warning shots” at a large delegation of international diplomats visiting the besieged Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank on Wednesday, an incident many critics said was an attempt to intimidate countries that just two days earlier issued an ultimatum to stop annihilating Gaza and others that have joined a genocide case against Israel.

    Palestinian officials were briefing a group of more than 20 diplomats about the crisis in the illegally occupied West Bank—where Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians including hundreds of children since October 2023 while pushing ahead with massive land theft and colonization—when they came under fire.

    According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the delegation “deviated” from the route approved by Israeli occupation authorities “and entered an area where they were not authorized to be,” prompting Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers to fire “warning shots to distance them away.”

    “The IDF regrets the inconvenience caused,” the ministry added.

    Israeli soldiers intentionally fired at a delegation of about 30 Arab & EU diplomats, ambassadors and consuls, visiting Jenin refugee camp, in the West Bank. Israel claims “it was an accident” and that they fired “warning shots” because they “felt in danger”. Israel was trying to intimidate them.

    [image or embed]
    — Anonymous ( @youranoncentral.bsky.social) May 21, 2025 at 6:06 AM

    Israeli media reported IDF troops fired shots in the air. However, video footage of the incident appears to show soldiers aiming their guns and firing straight ahead in the direction of the diplomats as they scrambled for cover. Israeli officials have often been caught lying about the actions of IDF troops in Palestine.

    The delegation included diplomats from the European Union and countries including Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, India, Japan, Jordan, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

    On Monday, three of those countries—France, the United Kingdom, and Canada—issued a rare joint statement condemning Operation Gideon’s Chariots, the ongoing Israeli campaign to conquer and indefinitely occupy all of Gaza and ethnically cleanse much of its population.

    On Tuesday, the U.K. announced it is suspending negotiations with Israel on a free trade agreement, explaining that “it is not possible to advance discussions on a new, upgraded FTA” with a government “that is pursuing egregious policies in the West Bank and Gaza.”

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, are wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza including extermination and forced starvation.

    The U.K. additionally sanctioned three far-right Israeli extremists, including settler leader Daniella Weiss, as well as three illegal settlement outposts and two groups “that have supported, incited, and promoted violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.”

    Also on Tuesday, European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas—who is the E.U.’s foreign policy chief—said the 27-nation bloc would review its political and economic agreement with Israel in light of the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza.

    Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, Jordan, Mexico, Spain, and Turkey have either joined or expressed support for the South Africa-led genocide case against Israel currently before the International Court of Justice—which last year found that Israel’s 58-year occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza is an illegal form of apartheid that must be ended as soon as possible.

    Israel’s 592-day assault and siege on Gaza has left more than 189,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and over 2 million others forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

    The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it called Wednesday’s “heinous crime” against the diplomats.

    “The delegation was undertaking an official mission to observe and assess the humanitarian situation and document the ongoing violations perpetrated by the occupying forces against the Palestinian people,” the ministry said. “This deliberate and unlawful act constitutes a blatant and grave breach of international law and of the fundamental principles of diplomatic relations as enshrined in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”

    Kallas said Wednesday that “any threats on diplomats’ lives are unacceptable.”

    “Israel is also a signatory to the Vienna Convention, I mean the obligation to guarantee the security of all foreign diplomats,” Kallas noted. “We definitely call on Israel to investigate this incident and also hold accountable [those] who are responsible for this.”

    The governments of other countries whose diplomats were targeted on Wednesday condemned the incident, with some, including France and Italy, summoning their Israeli ambassadors.

    Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
    Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
  • Spread the love
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
    UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.

    United Kingdom support for Israel in the Gaza war