Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Saturday required that Israel comply with an International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment requiring an instant stop to its military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Composing on the social networks platform X, Albares stated the ICJ judgment was “necessary” and required “a ceasefire, the release of captives and humanitarian gain access to.”
“The suffering of individuals in the Gaza Strip and the violence need to end,” he included.
Spain has actually been among the harshest critics in Europe of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Madrid suspended all arms exports to Israel soon after Israel released its military action to the October 7 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Previously today, Spain, together with Norway and Ireland, stated it would acknowledge Palestine as a state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted by summoning the ambassadors of the 3 nations.
The diplomatic spat continued Friday when Israel revealed constraints on the Spanish embassy’s operations in Tel Aviv and on its consulate in East Jerusalem.
The procedure followed a post on X by Spain’s 2nd Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz that included video of her stating “Palestine will be devoid of the river to the sea,” a motto which is commonly viewed as anti-Semitic in rejecting Israel’s right to exist.