MADRID: The international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain’s foreign minister said, ahead of a Madrid meeting of European and Arab nations on Sunday to urge a halt to its offensive.
Countries Israel had long counted on as allies have been adding their voices to growing international pressure after it expanded military operations against Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the devastating war.
A two-month aid blockade has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in the Palestinian territory, sparking fears of famine.
Aid organizations say the trickle of supplies Israel allowed to enter in recent days falls far short of needs.
Madrid will host 20 countries as well as international organizations on Sunday with the aim of “stopping this war, which no longer has any goal,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told France Info radio.
Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza “massively, unimpeded, neutrally, so that it is not Israel who decides who can eat and who cannot,” he said.
A previous such gathering in Madrid last year brought together countries including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as well as European nations such as Ireland and Norway that have recognized a Palestinian state.
Sunday’s meeting, which also includes representatives from the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, will promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After the European Union decided this week to review its cooperation deal with Israel, Albares said “we must consider sanctions, we must do everything, consider everything to stop this war.”
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Palestinian militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed almost 54,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry.
Spain hosts European, Arab nations to pressure Israel on Gaza
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Spain hosts European, Arab nations to pressure Israel on Gaza
- Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says the international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza
- Madrid is hosting 20 countries alongside international organizations on Sunday with the aim of stopping the war
Over 600 Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa on 4th day of Hanukkah
- Jerusalem Governorate reported that settlers conducted provocative tours of Al-Aqsa courtyards and performed Talmudic ritual
LONDON: Israeli settlers entered the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, the fourth day of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday.
Settlers toured the compound with Israeli forces, who imposed strict restrictions to hinder Palestinian access to the holy site. The Palestinian Authority-affiliated Jerusalem Governorate reported that 689 settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in groups, conducting provocative tours of its courtyards and performing Talmudic rituals, according to Wafa news agency.
In the northern West Bank, Israeli forces shot four Palestinians during a raid in the city of Nablus on Wednesday. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that the injuries included a gunshot wound to the chest, a knee injury, a shrapnel wound, and fragments lodged in the head.
Forces raided the Aqaba neighborhood in the walled city of Nablus, as well as the vicinities of Ras Al-Ain, Khan Al-Tikar and Al-Shuhada. The operation resulted in confrontations with Palestinians, during which Israeli forces used live bullets and tear gas.
