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Returning from Egypt, where he participated in the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reaffirmed, during an interview with Cadena SER, broadcast on Tuesday, that Spain would not give up, along with other countries, pursuing the crimes of the government of Benyamin Netanyahu in what he openly describes as “genocide in Gaza” – a term that few European leaders dare to use.
“Peace cannot mean oblivion, there cannot be impunity. Proceedings are open at the International Criminal Court. The main actors of the genocide will have to answer to justice,” said Sánchez. He recalled experiencing the Bosnian War in his youth: “There was peace, but also trials at the ICC. »
Sánchez believes that Spain and Europe must now “weigh in the reconstruction and the two-state solution”. He raised the possibility of sending Spanish troops as part of a peace mission to Gaza, although no concrete details have yet been set. “Spain wants to be present, to play an active role in reconstruction and peace,” he insisted.
The head of government assured that the arms embargo on Israel would remain in force.
Although Spain’s participation in the Sharm el-Sheikh summit — organized under the aegis of Donald Trump — was secondary, Sánchez was keen to recall his decision to recognize the State of Palestine a year and a half ago, before any other European leader. “It was important that the Palestinian National Authority be present at the summit. Focusing on the two-state solution is essential. Spain has played a role recognized by the UN, Arab countries and even the United States. With Norway and Ireland, we have opened the way to today’s almost unanimous recognition of Palestine in the international community,” he said.
On May 28, 2024, the government of Pedro Sánchez officially recognized the State of Palestine, alongside Ireland and Norway. The Spanish prime minister is a vocal critic of the war in Gaza. In addition to the two-state option, Sanchez said his country would support draft resolutions at the United Nations aimed at facilitating access of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The municipality of Barcelona has decided to sever its institutional relations with the Israeli government as well as to suspend its twinning agreement with the city of Tel-Aviv, in force since September 24, 1998. This decision is part of a political desire to denounce the genocide perpetrated by the Zionist army of the Palestinian populations in the Gaza Strip.
The municipality has instructed the port of Barcelona to refuse access to ships suspected of transporting weapons to Israel, even though this measure exceeds its direct jurisdiction.
On another note, Pedro Sánchez also wanted to defend a positive approach to immigration, denouncing the discourse of the right and the far right. “We have reduced irregular immigration by 40%. In seven years, two million people have come to contribute to growth, to fill vacant positions in the hotel industry, agriculture and construction. At the same time, we have reduced unemployment and crime,” he recalled.
According to him, “Spain is experiencing a demographic winter” and only “a birth rate policy combined with regular migration” will make it possible to finance pensions and public health. “Those who stigmatize immigration are creating a future of poverty,” he concluded.
“Spain must choose: to be an open and prosperous country or a closed and impoverished country,” Pedro Sánchez recently warned, suggesting that the use of foreign labor is a question of survival.
He stressed that migration is not only a question of humanity, but that it constitutes the only realistic way to stimulate economic growth and sustain the welfare state in a country where the birth rate is among the lowest in the European Union. f