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Albares calls for European-Arab pressure on Israel to end Gaza conflict
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares convened a summit in Madrid bringing together representatives from 20 European and Arab countries to urge a halt to the ongoing war in Gaza. Albares emphasized the urgent need to impose an arms embargo on Israel as a way to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stop the violence.
At the opening of the Madrid Group meeting, Albares highlighted that selling weapons to Israel only exacerbates instability in the Middle East, which currently does not need more arms. The collective goal of the gathering is to end the “unjust and inhumane” war, break the blockade on humanitarian aid, and move toward a two-state solution as the path to peace.
Albares also called on the European Union to not only suspend its Association Agreement with Israel but to consider targeted sanctions against individuals who block progress toward peace, including potentially Netanyahu himself. Spain has already sanctioned thirteen Israeli settlers and remains open to extending measures to political leaders undermining the two-state solution.
He urged participants to support a strong push at the upcoming United Nations conference on June 17 for broader recognition of the Palestinian state, warning that time is running out to establish a viable and realistic Palestinian state.
The Madrid summit gathered diverse nations from Germany, France, and the UK to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Brazil all united in rejecting violence as a norm in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the need for an immediate end to the conflict alongside humanitarian aid access, and a peaceful coexistence based on mutual recognition.
Albares concluded with a clear message to Israel: the actions proposed are not against the state itself but aimed at ending the senseless war. He stressed that the two-state solution remains the only viable path forward, dismissing alternatives such as displacement or extermination of Palestinians as unacceptable.
