Eduardo González
Palestinian Finance and Planning Minister Stephan Salameh is scheduled to visit Spain in mid-January to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly in the areas of development and reconstruction, the Palestinian government announced.
The announcement followed a telephone conversation on Friday, January 2, between Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.
During the conversation, as Albares reported on social media, the minister conveyed “full support for lasting peace in Gaza and an end to violence in the West Bank” and assured that “Spain will continue working with the Palestinian Authority to support its financial viability and its reform plan.” “Taxes withheld by Israel must be handed over. Settlement expansion must stop,” Albares warned.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic,” he stated. “Obstructions against NGOs are unacceptable and exacerbate the situation. UNRWA and UN agencies must be able to work freely in Gaza and the West Bank,” he continued. “We will participate in the reconstruction so that Gazans have a future in their land,” he concluded.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Albares and Mustafa discussed the latest developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, “underlining the need to intensify international efforts to stop Israeli occupation attacks and settler violence,” as well as “the release of Palestinian funds withheld by the Israeli authorities.”
Mustafa and Albares also reaffirmed the importance of continuing efforts to rebuild Gaza and the significant role of Europe in this regard. Both sides reiterated the importance of unifying the institutions of the State of Palestine in Gaza with those in the West Bank, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state as outlined in various international resolutions, including the most recent New York Declaration.
Albares and Mustafa also discussed areas of joint coordination and strengthening Spain’s political, diplomatic, and financial support for Palestine, with the Prime Minister thanking Spain for its continued support. “In this context,” according to WAFA, “the Palestinian Minister of Finance and Planning, Estephan Salameh, is scheduled to visit Spain in mid-January to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly in the areas of development and reconstruction.”