The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, held a meeting yesterday at the headquarters of his department with the Arab ambassadors accredited in Madrid to analyze the situation of the war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas.
The meeting was attended by the ambassadors of all Arab countries, except Algeria, which withdrew its highest diplomatic representative in Spain in March 2022, in protest of the support given by Pedro Sánchez’s Government to Morocco’s plan for Western Sahara.
Among the ambassadors was the head of the Palestinian Mission in Madrid, Husni Abdel Wahed, who after the attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel and the first announcement that the EU would cut aid to the Palestinians, said that if that confirmed “it would be another example of complicity with the Israeli occupation.” The ambassador of the Arab League in Madrid was also present.
In his social network account, Albares wrote that he had discussed with the Arab ambassadors “the situation after the terrorist attack against Israel.” And he added that it is necessary to “join forces to avoid more Israeli and Palestinian victims”, as well as an “escalation of violence” and to achieve the release of hostages and the passage of humanitarian aid to Gaza. He ended by expressing his desire to achieve peace in the region.
Diplomatic sources consulted by The Diplomat indicated that these were the ideas that the minister conveyed to the ambassadors, expressing his concern about the evolution of events.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel, Albares has distinguished between support for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people and condemnation of the actions of the movement that controls the Gaza Strip. The minister has always defended the continuity of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, and has expressed Spain’s availability to collaborate in caring for those who are forced to move to Gaza fleeing Israeli bombings.
The Spanish Government’s concern also extends to what may happen in Lebanon, where the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militias operate, and where 650 Spanish soldiers are deployed in the United Nations mission for the south of the country of cedars (Unifil). .
In addition to meeting with the Arab ambassadors, the Foreign Minister held a meeting last Wednesday with the Jewish communities in Spain, which was attended by the Israeli ambassador in Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon. The ambassador expressed on her X social network account her gratitude to the minister “for his solidarity and for his strong support for Israel and Israel’s right to defend itself.”
