Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, spoke yesterday with the new Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, with whom he addressed, among other issues, Spain’s commitment to recognize the Palestinian State.
“I have spoken with the new Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Mustafa,” Albares declared through his official account on the X social network. “I have conveyed to you Spain’s firm commitment to the ceasefire in Gaza, the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid and the recognition of the Palestinian State,” he continued. “Spain works for peace,” he concluded.
Mustafa was appointed prime minister by the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on March 15, almost a month after his predecessor in office, Mohamad Shtayé, presented his resignation in the midst of the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip. Former Minister of Economy, Mustafa, 69, heads a new government with a clear technocratic profile, the nineteenth of the Palestinian Authority, in the midst of one of the worst recent crises and with his sights set on the possibility of being able to govern in the Strip. of Gaza once the war ends.
Following his appointment, Albares congratulated Mustafa on behalf of the Spanish Government and expressed Spain’s support for the “leadership of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and the West Bank”, for peace and for the “establishment of the Palestinian State that coexists alongside Israel.”
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Wednesday in Qatar, on the second day of his tour of the Middle East (which included Jordan and Saudi Arabia), that Spain will support “the entry of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.” Likewise, he demanded the recognition of the State of Israel by its Arab “neighbors,” because “mutual recognition is the key to achieving a lasting solution to this conflict.”
During the flight to Jordan, the President of the Government told the journalists covering the tour that his intention is to be able to recognize the Palestinian State before the summer. “We must be attentive to the decisions that will be taken soon in Brussels and New York,” he added.
Likewise, Albares himself announced the next day in Brussels that the Council of Ministers, “which is the one who makes the decisions regarding Spain’s foreign policy”, will approve the recognition of the Palestinian State before July and that Pedro Sánchez will subsequently report on this to the Congress. The minister also assured that he remains in “permanent contact with European and Arab partners” to address the recognition of the Palestinian State and highlighted the “leadership position” that Spain is having in this matter.
