Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced today before the International Conference on the Emergency Humanitarian Response for Gaza, held in Jordan, that Spain will mobilize in 2024 “an additional package of 16 million euros in support of Palestine.”
“Eight months after the start of the conflict, the situation is more serious than ever,” Sánchez warned at the beginning of his speech before the Conference, organized at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Center in the Dead Sea and convened by King Abdullah. II of Jordan, the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah Sisi, and the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres.
The meeting was opened by Guterres, who called to stop “the horror in Gaza” and to agree to a ceasefire and unconditional release of the hostages. Likewise, he “welcomed the initiative recently raised by President (of the United States, Joe) Biden” and urged “all parties to take advantage of this opportunity and reach an agreement.”
In that same sense, Pedro Sánchez assured that Spain welcomes “very positively” the approval, by the United Nations Security Council, of the United States resolution that includes a three-phase plan to end the war in Gaza. The text was adopted almost unanimously (only Russia abstained) and has received the support of Hamas.
The President of the Government took advantage of his intervention to “make several proposals about what we should do together.” First, he called for “significantly increasing humanitarian aid and aid flows to Gaza” and “ensuring that this aid can reach the Gaza Strip and reach those who need it most.”
“In 2023, my country, Spain, tripled its support for Palestine and we reached a figure of 50 million euros, including humanitarian aid and financing for development,” he highlighted. “Our support for Palestine will continue and intensify in 2024, and I am pleased to announce that Spain, this year, will mobilize an additional package of 16 million euros in support of Palestine,” he added.
Furthermore, he assured that Spain will support “the mechanisms established by United Nations Security Council resolution 27/20 to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza” and reiterated, in this sense, “Spain’s firm support for the United Nations.” “We must maintain, and even increase, our support for UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees), which must be able to operate in Gaza” and whose “work is more crucial than ever,” he said.
Sánchez also warned of the need to defend compliance with International Law, because “the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is seriously undermining International Law, International Humanitarian Law, the multilateral system and a rules-based international order.” For this reason, he stated, “all parties must comply with the precautionary measures of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which call for a ceasefire, for the Rafah military offensive to stop and for humanitarian aid to arrive without any obstacles,” provisions that “are binding on all members of the international community” and that “it is clear that they are not being respected in this context.” “Spain has decided to join the case initiated by South Africa at the ICJ,” he recalled.
On the other hand, Pedro Sánchez warned that “humanitarian action, the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza are different parts of a process that we are supporting here and that must ultimately lead to the creation of the Palestinian State and compliance with the solution of the two states.” “Spain and other States, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia, have recognized the State of Palestine in the last two weeks,” he recalled. “We are not talking about a symbolic gesture, it is not something that goes against Israel,” because “a Palestinian state is the best guarantee of security for Israel and the region,” he assured. “Exactly two weeks ago, I explained to Spanish citizens that peace, justice and coherence are the bases of this historic decision,” he concluded.
Bilateral meetings and Albares
On the sidelines of the Conference, Pedro Sánchez held a meeting with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel. “The European Union is working to alleviate the catastrophic situation in which the civilian population of the Strip finds itself,” he declared through the social network X. He also met with António Guterres. “We share our satisfaction with the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 2735, which supports the United States proposal for a ceasefire and we call on the parties to implement it,” he declared on the same social network) .
The President of the Government also met with the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, who conveyed “his gratitude for Spain’s decision to recognize the State of Palestine”, and with the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob, whom he congratulated “for the recognition of the State of Palestine.”
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who accompanied Sánchez in Jordan, assured his counterparts, gathered in a working group within the framework of the Conference, that “Spain is committed to the protection of civilians. , compliance with International Humanitarian Law and with the arrival of all necessary humanitarian aid to Gaza.” Albares also held meetings with his Malaysian colleague, Mohamad Haji Hasan, and with his Chilean counterpart, Alberto van Klaveren.
