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MIDDLE EAST CRISIS

First Palestinian ambassador to Spain submits credentials

The first Palestinian ambassador to Spain presented his credentials on Monday to Spanish King Felipe VI after Madrid in May formally recognised a Palestinian state.

Published: 16 September 2024 16:32 CEST
First Palestinian ambassador to Spain submits credentials
Spain's first Palestinian ambassador Husni Abdel Wahed. (Photo by Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP)

The head of state welcomed Housni Abdel Wahed to the royal palace in Madrid for the traditional ceremony for newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Spain, according to images published by the royal palace on social network X.

Wahed had been the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Madrid since 2022 and he enjoyed a similar status to that of an ambassador but he officially changed rank after Spain along with Ireland and Norway formally recognised a Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The three countries said at the time they hoped their decision would spur other European countries to follow suit and accelerate efforts towards securing a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Israel has condemned the decision, saying it bolsters Hamas, the militant Islamist group that led the October 7th attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of the staunchest critics in Europe of Israel’s Gaza offensive, announced earlier this month that a bilateral summit between Spain and Palestine would be held before the end of the year.

The October 7th attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has so far killed at least 41,226 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

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MIDDLE EAST CRISIS

Spain hosts meeting on Israel-Palestinian two-state solution

Ministers from Muslim and European countries along with the European Union's foreign affairs chief gathered Friday in Madrid to discuss how to advance a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Published: 14 September 2024 09:57 CEST
Spain hosts meeting on Israel-Palestinian two-state solution

“Together, we want to identify the concrete actions that will enable us to make progress towards this objective,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on social network X.

“The international community must take a decisive step towards a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” the Socialist premier added.

Sánchez welcomed participants at his official residence before the start of the meeting at the foreign ministry in central Madrid, hosted by his top diplomat Jose Manuel Albares.

“The implementation of the two-state solution is the only way to ensure a just and lasting peace in the region through the peaceful and secure coexistence of the state of Palestine and the state of Israel,” Albares told a news conference.

In attendance were Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — all members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza — as well as the heads of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The European Union was represented by its foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell as well as the foreign ministers of Ireland, Norway and Slovenia in addition to Spain.

EU nations have “different positions” on whether to recognise Palestine as a state “but there is undoubtedly unanimity in the union on the need to support the solution based on the construction of the Palestinian state, because the state of Israel already exists,” Borrell told a separate press conference after the end of the meeting.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz blasted Borrell for taking part in the gathering, writing on social network X that “Borrell supports establishing a Palestinian terror state controlled by Iran, and the axis of evil against Israel, moderate Arab states, and Europe.”

“This is Borrell’s legacy –- anti-Semitism and hatred towards Israel,” he added.

‘Tragic dimension’

Asked about Katz’s comments, Borrell said that “accusing those who disagree with a government’s position of anti-Semitism makes no sense.”

“There have unfortunately been examples in history of what it means to be anti-Semitic, and I don’t think we should play with big words that have had a tragic dimension in history,” he added.

Calls for a two-state solution have grown since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, which began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.

That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

The militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel has responded with an offensive that has killed at least 41,118 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.

Sánchez has been one of the staunchest critics in Europe of Israel’s Gaza offensive since the start of the conflict.

Under his watch, Spain on May 28 along with Ireland and Norway formally recognised a Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Earlier this month he announced that the first “bilateral summit between Spain and Palestine” would be held before the end of the year. He said he expected “several collaboration agreements between the two states” to be signed.

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