Israel's attacks on Gaza 'have to stop,’ says Spain’s foreign minister

Israel’s attacks on the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza “have to stop,” the Spanish foreign minister said in Jordan on Wednesday. Emphasising the tragedy of the more than 31,000 Palestinians killed in the attacks, including around 13,500 children, Jose Manuel Albares said that the international community cannot remain indifferent and should act to achieve an urgent ceasefire, Anadolu has reported.

“The deaths aren’t figures, they are people of flesh and blood, and we cannot forget that,” he said during a joint press conference alongside his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi. “We have agreed since the beginning about the need for a ceasefire that facilitates the entrance of humanitarian aid to stop the civilian population from dying in bombings or because of hunger.”

Albares is on his third Middle East tour in recent months. Later today he is expected to visit Egypt. While in Jordan, he also emphasised the need for all parties, including Israel, to comply with international law and the International Court of Justice ruling. “No one should be above the law or at the margin of justice,” he insisted.

During his tour, the Spanish minister is drumming up support not only for a ceasefire, but also for an international peace conference.

“We need to work politically so that once the urgent ceasefire happens, this is the last time we see this spiral of violence and horror,” he explained. His vision, he added, is not to host another Oslo Accords where states discuss the “parameters” of peace. “This is so that once and for all we implement the two-state solution; so that a realistic Palestinian state exists in the eyes of the international community.”

Safadi agreed that establishing a sovereign Palestinian state “is the only way to achieve security and stability in the region.”

Albares pointed out that Spain and Jordan are at a high point in bilateral relations. The countries also signed two new cooperation agreements related to political consultations and exchanging experiences between diplomatic institutes.

He also said that Spain will collaborate on a water de-salinisation project, and that part of Spain’s increased funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) will go towards supporting the 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan.

READ: King of Spain declares country’s solidarity with Gaza