Spanish government 'ready' to recognize Palestinian state

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Wednesday that Spain supports the recognition of a Palestinian state, and strongly criticized Israeli actions in Gaza.

"Spain is ready to recognize the Palestinian state," the Socialist prime minister said in parliament in Madrid on Wednesday. He had met his counterparts from Ireland and Malta to push ahead with this important step, he said.

Recognition is right "because the social majority demands it, it is in Europe's geopolitical interests and because the international community cannot help the Palestinian state if it does not recognize it," Sánchez told parliament.

He also attacked the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The Israeli government's completely disproportionate response to the Hamas attack overrides decades of humanitarian law and threatens to destabilize the Middle East and thus the entire world," he said.

"In addition to the more than 33,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip, 1 million innocent civilians suffer from hunger every day, half a million people suffer from anxiety or depression and every day ten children lose a leg or an arm, often amputated without anaesthetic," Sánchez said.

In November, Israel reacted indignantly to criticism from Madrid, recalled its ambassador for consultations and summoned Spain's ambassador to Israel to the Foreign Ministry for consultations. In the meantime, the pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire has increased, particularly from the US.

The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by fighters from Hamas and other resistance groups on October 7 in Israel near the border. More than 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu rejects a Palestinian state and thus the so-called two-state solution, which allies such as the US are also urging him to pursue.