Spain calls for international sanctions on “Israel” to end its war on Gaza
The international community should look to sanction “Israel” to stop the war in Gaza, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said ahead of a Madrid meeting of European and Arab nations on Sunday.
The Madrid meeting, which also includes representatives from the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, will serve as preparation for a high-level UN conference on the two-state solution, which France and Saudi Arabia will host in New York this June. The Madrid Group, formed in 2024, was established to advance the two-state solution in response to concerns about the situation in Gaza and escalating violence in the Middle East.
Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza “massively, unimpeded, neutrally, so that it is not Israel who decides who can eat and who cannot,” FM Albares added.
A previous such gathering in Madrid last year brought together countries including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey as well as European nations such as Ireland and Norway that have recognized a Palestinian state.
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.”
In the same context, German deputy foreign minister warned about Gaza’s “unbearable” humanitarian crisis, calling for an immediate ceasefire, while emphasizing Germany’s support for the two-state solution.
According to WAFA news agency, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the decision taken by the Berlin branch of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) to adopt a resolution urging the German government to recognize the State of Palestine.
Palestine’s Ambassador to Germany, Laith Arafa, described the resolution as unprecedented, reflecting growing global solidarity with the Palestinian cause and signalling a strategic shift in international positions toward the “Israeli” occupation in light of its ongoing crimes.
Separately, the Gaza Tribunal, a people’s tribunal established as an independent initiative with humanitarian and moral objectives to investigate the Zionist occupation’s ongoing war crimes in Gaza, will hold its first public session on Monday in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Discussions will cover a range of issues, including settler-colonial genocide, genocide frameworks, apartheid, forced population transfer, the protection of civilians, shortcomings of the UN system, and the criminalization of protests.
Following the assembly in Sarajevo, the tribunal plans to hold its final hearing session in October 2025 in Istanbul, Türkiye. During this event, a Jury of Conscience will present a draft of the tribunal’s findings and decisions, drawing on testimonies from witnesses and statements from Palestinians affected by the crisis.
While not a substitute for international legal bodies like the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Gaza Tribunal functions as a complementary forum, providing credible legal findings and helping to raise global awareness on the issue.
