The foreign ministers of the European Union and their counterparts from the Arab League called for an extension of the ceasefire in Gaza at their meeting this Monday in Barcelona. They have done so with nuance, because while the head of Jordanian diplomacy, Ayman Safadi, has asked for a “permanent ceasefire” to “stop the humanitarian catastrophe,” his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, who is among the most extreme, rejected that Greatest reluctance to initiate an indefinite cessation of hostilities (an option Israel rejects) has called for the pause in bombing to be extended “as long as possible to allow the hostages [capturados por Hamás] The statements came before Qatar announced that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by two days beyond Tuesday, the date on which the previous agreement expired , had achieved.
The High Representative for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, called for an “extension of the break”. [en los combates] “in a way that allows the release of more hostages and leads to a ceasefire linked to a political process.” That means moving forward step by step, but without losing sight of the ultimate goal: a negotiated solution to the Middle East conflict the foundation of the formula of two states, one Israeli and one Palestinian, through an international peace conference.
The ministerial meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM), an organization usually dedicated to promoting technical cooperation between countries on both sides of the Mediterranean, has this time turned into a high-level political forum with Europeans and Arabs above it Face discussed confronting the consequences of the war between Hamas and Israel and stopping it. The most absent was the Israeli government, which announced last Thursday that it would leave its chair empty, saying the meeting’s agenda had been changed without consultation with it to focus on the Gaza conflict There is a danger that he will get into conflict, a trap against his country. “This was not a meeting against anyone, it was a meeting of and for peace. We hope that Israel will take its place again in the UPM as a founding member,” said Borrell.
Despite Israel’s absence, the event broke the attendance record for events of this kind, with 27 delegations represented at ministerial level. European ministers who visited Barcelona included France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Ireland and Portugal; On behalf of the Arab countries, in addition to the Palestinian Authority (PNA), the diplomatic heads of Jordan, which co-chairs the UPM, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and Lebanon were present. Those from Morocco and Algeria, with whom Spain has had diplomatic crises in recent years, are missing.
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The special guest was the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, whose country is not part of the UPM but who represented the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee formed after the summit on the 11th in Riyadh; The event was attended by, among others, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who visited the Saudi kingdom for the first time since the recent reconciliation between the two countries through Chinese mediation. In a brief intervention before the plenary session, the Saudi prince called on Israel to respond “through sanctions or pressure” to its atrocities against civilians, stressing that there was “no alternative” to the two-state formula; This ignored the fact that at the time of the Hamas attack, Riyadh was on the verge of normalizing relations with Israel, quite apart from the Palestinian issue.
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Europeans and Arabs had the opportunity to examine their similarities – all have supported the two-state formula, except for one Muslim country that Borrell declined to identify – but also their discrepancies. “Some people talk about law [de Israel] For us, in self-defense, it is clearly aggression and genocide,” the Jordanian minister said. Both the head of European diplomacy and the meeting’s host, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, agreed that Hamas will not play a role in future negotiations. “Hamas is not a partner for peace,” he said. When asked about this, Safadi avoided the topic.
After ruling out Israeli repopulation of Gaza and the forced displacement of its people, Borrell insisted that the only way to prevent it from becoming a black hole on the shores of the Mediterranean was for the Palestinian Authority “in the “I am in a position to return.” to Gaza,” for which it is crucial that it be “strengthened and legitimized” with the support of the international community. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki has assured that the ANP does not need to return to the Gaza Strip “because it never left it” and continues to provide public services (health, education, passports) through a cohort of thousands of civilian officials, although the Hamas took political and military control of Gaza 17 years ago. “We will continue to fulfill our responsibilities,” he assured, amid skepticism that he would be able to govern a strip devastated by bombings. At a time of extreme weakness in the ANP, undermined by a lack of democracy and allegations of corruption, the Barcelona event was a boost for Mahmoud Abbas’s Ramallah executive.
After the meeting with Al Maliki, Albares did not want to comment on Hamas’s statement, which described as “clear and courageous” the position of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo during their recent tour of the Hamas region, claiming that it would not comment on “communications from a terrorist organization” and that the Spanish government had clearly condemned the Islamist attack on Israel.
He also did not want to confirm whether the Israeli ambassador to Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, who was summoned last Friday after the Israeli authorities accused Sánchez and De Croo of “supporting terrorism”, will attend his service this afternoon, which he did, however. has revealed what he is being told: He is being asked for explanations – “I hope they are clear,” the minister added – why these “unacceptable and completely false” statements were made and “guarantees that they will not be made again occur.” .” in the future”. Already on Sunday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry conveyed its complaints to the Spanish ambassador in Tel Aviv, Ana María Salomón Pérez, about what it saw as the lack of explicit condemnation of Hamas’ actions.
In reality, Spain has repeatedly condemned Hamas’ attacks, but has not denounced the use of the Palestinian population as human shields by the Islamist militias. It is this practice that the Netanyahu government is highlighting to shrug off responsibility for the deaths of civilians in Gaza.
The Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al Maliki, this Monday in Barcelona. JOSEP LAGO (AFP)
At the dinner he gave this Sunday evening to the heads of the delegations invited to the forum at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC), the Spanish Foreign Minister reiterated his condemnation of the “indiscriminate killing of civilians” by Hamas on October 7 and called for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” “Spain has been very clear since the beginning of the crisis, calling for an immediate ceasefire and demanding that Israel strictly comply with international humanitarian law,” emphasized the head of Spanish diplomacy, rejecting Israel’s accusations that Madrid had aligned itself with Hamas. an accusation that the Islamist militia itself fueled by welcoming the position represented by Sánchez and De Croo.
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