Spain to convene Madrid Group to ramp up pressure on Israel

ISTANBUL

The Madrid Group will convene Sunday in Spain’s capital in an effort to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel to halt its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

"We want to mobilize the voices of the EU but also those outside the European Union in Arab and Islamic countries," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Tuesday in an interview, El Pais reported.

"We all want the same thing: to end this war, prevent Gaza from becoming a mass graveyard, and break the Israeli blockade on humanitarian aid," he said.

The high-level talks will be the fifth official meeting of the Madrid Group, which includes ministers from the Arab-Islamic Contact Group on Gaza as well as several European nations.

Its last meeting in September 2024 included participation from Spain, Norway, Slovenia and Ireland on the European side and from Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain on the Arab-Islamic side.

The gathering is scheduled on the same day the EU announced a review of its Association Agreement with Israel, which grants trade privileges and is conditional on human rights compliance. The review is backed by 17 member states, according to EU officials.

Earlier, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy declared a halt to negotiations on a new UK-Israel free trade agreement.

"We are suspending talks," he said, accusing Israel of pursuing "atrocious policies" in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Spain’s Congress has voted in favor of an arms embargo against Israel.

The Madrid Group, supported by the EU, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has previously called for an immediate ceasefire and has advocated for a two-state solution.

"We want to contribute all our support, our strength and our diplomatic capacity to next month's UN meeting, with the aim of finalizing and implementing the two-state solution," Albares said, referring to a planned UN conference in June in New York.

The conference will seek broader recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state. Around 147 countries already recognize Palestine, including many in Eastern Europe.