Luis Ayllón
The Spanish Government fears the political and economic repercussions that the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas terrorists may manifest in the coming days, according to diplomatic sources consulted by The Diplomat.
Although the government partners most to the left have avoided criticism of the Hamas attack, the reaction of the president, Pedro Sánchez, and his acting Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has been one of condemnation from the first moment to the actions carried out since last Saturday by Islamist militias against Israel.
Just yesterday, Albares once again condemned the attack and insisted in an interview on TVE that it is “without a doubt, terrorism” and that “there cannot be any qualification.” “The indiscriminate shooting of civilians, the holding of so many people, obviously these are acts of terrorism,” he said
The minister stated that, in his contacts with his Israeli colleague, Eli Cohen, he recognized Israel’s right to defend itself, but added that “it has to be within International Humanitarian Law,” which is what governs wars. But “we are – he insisted – facing a terrorist attack against Israel and that is what has to stop first, immediately and we must release all those people who are currently being held against their will.”
Albares acknowledged that the main concern is that there could be an escalation at the regional level, after the Lebanese militia party Hezbollah fired on Israeli territory on Sunday and Israel responded with bombings in the border area.
The Spanish authorities, like the rest of the European authorities, are concerned that the confrontation will become a regional conflict, in which Syria and, above all, Iran could intervene, whom some media claim is behind the actions of Hamas. Iran denies this involvement, but political analysts consider it real, in an attempt to stop the approach of Saudi Arabia -its traditional enemy- and other Arab countries to Israel.
The sending by the United States to the Eastern Mediterranean of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, the guided missile cruiser USS Normandy, and the destroyers Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Rossevelt, highlights that there is a clear fear of escalation of the conflict.
The economic repercussions of this escalation would affect the entire world, and Spain, logically, would be affected. There is, therefore, concern in the Sánchez Executive, because there would undoubtedly be a slowdown in the economic recovery, motivated by a progressive rise in the price of crude oil, which would go from the 86 dollars per barrel that were paid before the start of the elections. hostilities to overcome the psychological barrier of 100 dollars. In fact, yesterday the price rose to 87 dollars. It is estimated that, for every 10 dollars increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil, inflation would increase by one point, which would have an impact on the General State Budget project.
For all these reasons, the Spanish Government, according to the sources consulted, is following the evolution of events with the utmost attention and remains in contact with the leaders of the countries in the area, as well as with the main partners of the European Union, which They have called for today an emergency telematic meeting at the level of foreign ministers.
Spain also follows with special attention the possible involvement of the Hezbollah militias in the south of Lebanon in the conflict, because 650 Spanish soldiers are part of Unifil, the mission of the United Nations Interim Force in that country, whose objective is maintaining peace in the area.
Last Sunday, Pedro Sánchez expressed his support for the work of these soldiers, in a telematic conversation with Spanish General Aroldo Lázaro, who has been the head of Unifil since February 2022, and with General Luis Jesús Fernández Herrero, in command of the Eastern Sector, where our country’s contingent is deployed.
Two Spaniards affected
On the other hand, both the Spanish Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem, which acts as an informal Embassy to Palestine, have mobilized to provide assistance to Spaniards who are in the area.
As Albares revealed yesterday, it is about knowing the situation of two Spaniards who “have suffered this attack from Gaza to Israel.” For security reasons, the minister did not give more details, and only commented that his Ministry knows the identities of these people and that he is in contact with both the authorities and their families “trying to clarify and be able to help in every way possible”.
According to El Confidencial, it was a Basque man who lived in a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip and a young Andalusian woman with dual nationality who was doing military service. Specifically, they would be Iván Illarramendi Saizar, born 46 years ago in Zarautz (Gipuzkoa) and who lives in the Kissufim kibbutz, near the Gaza Strip, with his wife; and Maya Villalobo Sinvany, 19 years old and whose father resides in Seville. This young woman, who has dual nationality, was in Israel to perform her military service and was at an Army post in Nahal Oz, also close to Gaza.