Spanish Foreign Minister arrives in Gaza

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo arrived Tuesday in the Gaza Strip through Erez crossing with Israel on a few hours’ visit to the embattled enclave, a Palestinian official said.

Garcia-Margallo “aims to get acquainted with the impact of the recent Israeli offensive in the coastal enclave and hold talks with chief of UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA Pierre Krahenbuhl,” Maher Abu Sabha, head of the Palestinian border authority, told The Anadolu Agency.

The top diplomat arrived in Ramallah on Monday, where he met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

The visit comes as part of a regional tour for the Spanish minister to get familiar with the “status quo” in the Middle East, a statement by the Spanish Foreign Ministry said earlier.

In November, the Spanish parliament called for recognizing Palestine as a state.