Why Would Spain Support the Independence of Palestine?
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez doubts that Israel would abide by international law in its war on Gaza, emphasizing the high number of civilian casualties happening there. “What we are seeing in Gaza is not acceptable,” said PM Pedro Sanchez on Thursday (30/11/2023). He added that what is currently happening in Gaza is unacceptable. Spanish ambassador ended up summoned by Israel, recalling for consultation with the envoy. More than 15,000 Palestinians were killed after weeks of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians, worsening the humanitarian crisis. Spain has become one of the European countries who are vocally against Israel, citing that Israel has killed innocent civilians, including thousands of boys and girls in the Gaza Strip. Not only stressing that violence will lead to more violence, Spain also called for a permanent ceasefire. Spain has encouraged Europe to also discuss the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Some Israel left-wing politicians, on the other hand, have accused Spain of siding with Hamas after the ‘genocide’ accusation. Israel has labeled ‘Hamas is ISIS’ since the attack on the 7th of October and claimed they found the ISIS flag on the assault site. Spain rejected the claim, and the social rights minister, who is also the far-left junior partner of Spain’s coalition government has publicly supported Palestine, criticizing Israel’s occupation and that Israel has committed war crimes. Israel urged Spain to condemn the ‘immoral’ remarks from his minister, stating that it may endanger the Jewish communities in Spain. Spain reaffirmed that it condemned Hamas attacks on Israel and also called for civilian protection in Gaza. “We cannot confuse Hamas, which is in the European Union’s (EU) list of terrorist groups, with the Palestinian population or authority,” said Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares. Although some countries such as Austria and Germany said they would suspend the funding to Palestinian territories, however, Spain, France, and Luxembourg are considering keeping the aid flow for the civilians.
Spain has close historical relations with the Arab world
Almost a decade ago in 2014, under a conservative government, the Parliament in Spain adopted a nonbinding resolution calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state. However, no follow-up action was implemented. It was back in the late 1930s to 1970s that Spain turned to Arab countries during the Franco dictatorship due to the isolation in the West. However, after 1986, Spain established diplomatic relations with Israel.
Recently, Spain Prime Minister Sanchez was visiting the Middle East, in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict. After his re-appointment, Pedro Sanchez has been pushing the European leaders to support Palestinian aspirations, including its independence. Additionally, Spain’s Foreign Minister stated that the independence of Palestine would be a step forward and the best guarantee of peace in the Middle East.
Sanchez his new administration affirmed that his ‘first commitment’ to foreign policy would be to ‘work in Europe and Spain to recognize the Palestinian state.’ While Europe and the US are under high criticism for their favoritism towards Israel, the Prime Minister of Spain tried to show its support and have a ‘ripple effect’ in Europe. The statement reflects that Spain is one of the European countries that have clear support for the Arab world. For Sanchez, support for the Palestinians is also an effort to his political commitment both domestically and internationally. His focus on Palestina came up during a government formation debate, he pushed for a majority backing to form a left-wing coalition government. To gather support and voice for the government, Sanchez needed to keep his promises. However, some far-left members pushed Sanchez further on the situation of Palestine, and even some urged Spain to impose sanctions on Israel and break formal ties with Israel.
Domestic push on Palestinian
A growing sympathy towards Palestinians happening in Spain, where a survivor of the 1937 Guernica massacre and Palestinian protestor paid tribute to Israel’s bloody deeds in Gaza. The spokesperson for the Guernica Palestine organization, Igor Otxoa, stated that they have always felt sympathy for the Palestinians who suffered under the dictatorship and long conflict with the Spanish state. One noteworthy thing is that Spain leads few Western countries that are increasingly criticizing Israel.
A Spanish minister for social rights and leader of the far-left Podemos party also condemned the double standards from other world leaders, citing that while human rights violence in the Ukraine has been supported, however, there is a ‘silence’ on the victim of Israel’s cruelty. On the Ukraine-Russian war, the European Union took quick action to impose sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin. While Spain needed to push for more release of hostages and the flow of humanitarian aid, it also needed to urge the West not to worsen geopolitical conditions with veto power in the United Nations (UN).