Madrid, Spain – After Spain recognized the Palestinian state, Pedro Sanchez met in Madrid with his Palestinian counterpart, Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, as well as senior officials from several Middle Eastern countries.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and the foreign ministers of Turkey and Jordan were among the group who later posed for a photo on the steps of the Moncloa Palace in the Spanish capital. .
“On behalf of President (Mahmoud) Abbas and the Palestinian government, the Palestinian people, we warmly welcome Spain’s recognition of the State of Palestine,” Mustafa said of Spain’s historic decision. “This recognition strengthens our determination to continue our fight for a just and lasting peace. »
Ireland, Norway and Slovenia also joined Spain in this approach which was strongly condemned by Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz sent an angry direct message to Sanchez on flamenco and apparent scenes from the Palestinian group’s incursion into the country. southern Israel on October 7.
.@sanchezcastejonHamas thanks you for your service. pic.twitter.com/Pkdp5diHRX
– ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 26, 2024
He accused Spain of complicity in “inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes” and called Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz an anti-Semite after closing a speech with the pro-Palestinian slogan “From the river to the sea”.
Widely used during pro-Palestinian protests, the slogan refers to the borders of British-mandated Palestine, which stretched from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean before the creation of Israel in 1948.
“It’s 2024, the days of the Inquisition are over. Today, the Jewish people have a sovereign, independent state, and no one will force us to convert our religion or threaten our existence – those who harm us, we will harm them in return,” said Katz, member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. to party.
For months, diplomatic relations between Israel and Spain have fallen to new lows. Each side has summoned ambassadors as the war in Gaza rages.
Following Spain’s historic decision, Israel ordered the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem to suspend services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as a “punitive” measure.
And tensions are sure to escalate further, as Spain announced on Thursday that it would join the South African genocide case before the International Court of Justice against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Spain is the first European country to support this cause.
Long a supporter of Palestinian rights, Spain has led the push for recognition, hoping to pave the way for peace and a two-state solution.
Sanchez said “the historic decision… has one goal: to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace.”
Some observers say pressure from Sumar, the far-left party and junior partner in Spain’s coalition government, had an impact on Sanchez’s final decision, who also reportedly intends to host an international peace conference in Madrid .
But Manuel Muniz, dean of the School of Politics, Economics and World Affairs at IE University of Madrid, said Israel could oppose Spain’s involvement in future peace talks. peace.
“In terms of the impact on relations between Spain and Israel, it is obvious that the short-term effects are significant,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“What remains uncertain is the impact this will have in the long term. This likely means that Israel will oppose Spain’s involvement in future peace talks with the Palestinians. But this will depend on the nature of the Israeli government.
Isaias Barrenada Bajo, a specialist in Spain-Palestine relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, said the unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood was the culmination of years of multi-party politics in Spain.
In 2014, the Spanish parliament passed a motion to recognize the Palestinian state, but it never came to fruition.
“What makes the difference now is the war in Gaza and Sumar’s push to recognize the Palestinian state,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Barrenada said that since the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975, all Spanish governments of different political colors have supported Palestine’s right to statehood.
Outside the political arena, popular opinion in Spain appears to favor support for a Palestinian state.
A survey by the Real Elcano Institute, a Madrid-based think tank, found that 78 percent of Spaniards were in favor of recognizing Palestine, while 18 percent were against and 4 percent didn’t know.
Jorge Hernández, 42, manager of a car manufacturer in Barcelona, believes that Spain had to act.
“The United States and Britain do nothing, but the killings continue on both sides. Other countries need to do something. I don’t know if recognizing Palestine will make a difference, but we need to push for the fighting to stop,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
But among Spain’s small Jewish population, estimated at around 50,000, some say the atmosphere has deteriorated since October 7.
On that day, Hamas led an incursion into southern Israel that sharply escalated the historic Israeli-Palestinian conflict, during which 1,139 people were killed and 250 were captured.
Since then, the Israeli attack on Gaza, by far the deadliest war against the besieged enclave, has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to health officials.
Israel’s justification for its military campaign to crush Hamas remains elusive.
Ruth Timon, 57, a Jewish lawyer from Madrid, says she avoids conversations about Gaza in case they explode.
She said her son was subjected to verbal abuse at Madrid University where he was a student.
She believes that Sánchez’s decision to recognize Palestine was motivated by domestic political factors.
Spain’s left-wing coalition government depends on small regional parties for a majority, but has failed to pass this year’s budget and other laws.
“Politically, in Spain, we are in a complicated situation. No law has been adopted. The government can’t do anything, so it concerns itself with international politics,” Timon told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“Sanchez focuses on Palestine and Ukraine before the European elections. (His) socialist party, I think, believes that supporting Palestine can provide support for the European elections. »