The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, yesterday urged “to do everything possible” to avoid the escalation of the war in Gaza because the “alarming news” coming from Lebanon shows that the situation “can overflow at any moment”.
The minister made these statements to the press after participating in the opening of the second day of the course ‘Spain in the World II: international order and geopolitical change’, at the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) in Santander, where he was accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan, Ayman al Safadi.
The course, which will run until Friday 2 August, will address a series of crucial issues for Spanish foreign policy, including the challenges of the EU and NATO, the situation in various geographical areas such as Latin America, the Sahel, West Africa and Asia-Pacific, the reform of multilateralism, the future of development financing and the geopolitical consequences of the dual ecological and digital transition.
In his appearance before the media, Albares condemned the launching of a rocket from Lebanon on a football field in the Syrian Golan Heights occupied by Israel, which caused the death of at least twelve Israelis this weekend, and warned that this “alarming news” shows that violence can “overflow at any time” by extending a war that would affect the stability and security of the region and would have “repercussions” in Europe.
For this reason, the minister urged “doing everything possible” to stop the violence, again called, on behalf of Spain, for an “immediate ceasefire” and asked for the “immediate” commitment of the international community to put an end to “the massacre of innocent people in Gaza” and to prevent an escalation of the conflict that would be “a threat” to global peace and security. “The aggression has lasted too long, has killed too many lives, has caused more destruction than any other conflict in recent history,” he denounced. Therefore, the conflict “must stop and it must stop now,” he warned.
Albares reiterated his wish that the State of Palestine, recognized by Spain on May 28, can “coexist in peace, in good neighborliness and in mutual security” with Israel and contribute to a “normalization” of this country with the Arab world for the benefit of “peace and definitive stability.”
In this regard, Ayman al Safadi thanked, during the opening ceremony, Spain for its leadership in the recognition of Palestine, “acting for peace and security.” “Jordan and Spain have always had an excellent strategic relationship, we want the same thing, justice and peace, we want international law to be applied,” he concluded.
