Spain says expanding Middle East conflict would be a 'catastrophe’

OVIEDO, Spain

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Friday that there is a clear and growing risk of the Israel-Palestinian conflict spilling over into the Middle East, which he said would be “an authentic catastrophe.”

He said he has been lobbying his counterparts for an immediate cease-fire that gives way to a peace conference that implements a Palestinian state, something he believes is needed to achieve regional stability.

“The hope of the Palestinian people for the Palestinian State is intimately linked with Israel’s security and the stability of the Middle East,” he told broadcaster RNE.

Albares said the “entire international community” knows what a viable Palestinian state would look like, so it is less about negotiating and more about implementing the state on the ground.

In his view, a viable Palestinian state consists of Gaza and the West Bank under a single Palestinian authority, connected by a corridor, and with the capital in East Jerusalem. Gaza would also need to have a port and the ability to use the sea.

He said that Israel will need to cooperate and end its policy of “aggressive settlements” in the West Bank, but said there is still hope.

“The international community is giving up too quickly to the idea that war in the Middle East is inevitable,” Albares continued. “I will never believe that the Middle East has to be synonymous with war, refugees, and dead civilians. I will never give up the idea that the Palestinian people will have a state where they can live in peace and safety alongside neighboring Israel.”

Albares added that the EU will hold a “very important” foreign ministers’ meeting with Arab countries and Israel on Monday.

He said Spain would be there arguing for peace and for the EU to speak in a united voice.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has vowed to try to convince the EU and other European nations to recognize a Palestinian state. However, Sanchez said if they are not persuaded, Spain will do so unilaterally during his term, set to last a maximum of four years.