“I demand that the Israeli government clarify the circumstances of this brutal attack as soon as possible,” Pedro Sánchez demanded, this Tuesday, from the largest Palestinian refugee camp located in Amman, the capital of Jordan. The President of the Government has declared himself “horrified” at the Israeli attack that has caused the death in the Gaza Strip of seven humanitarian workers from the NGO of Spanish chef José Andrés.
The President of the Government, who has maintained a close relationship with chef José Andrés for years, contacted him this morning to convey his condolences and convey “all my love and support.”
WCK stated that its team – aid workers from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Palestine and one with dual American-Canadian nationality – was moving through a “non-conflict zone” in three vehicles with the NGO logo, two of them armored. The convoy was hit when it was leaving the Deir al Balah warehouse, in the center of the enclave, where aid workers had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid that had arrived in Gaza hours earlier through the maritime corridor.
Sánchez has taken advantage of his visit to a school for Palestinian refugees managed by UNRWA, a UN organization also questioned by Israel, to make “a new call for the definitive cessation of hostilities” in Gaza, as well as “the liberation of all hostages” kidnapped by Hamas.
“It is urgent that the ceasefire demanded by the United Nations Security Council last week and which is binding be implemented, but it also has to be a permanent ceasefire,” Sánchez demanded. “It is the necessary step to make way for a political process that definitively puts an end to this conflict,” Sánchez urged. “A process that leads to the real and effective materialization of the two-state solution, which implies the recognition of the Palestinian State for those of us who have not yet done so, and the full recognition of Israel by the entire international community” , the Spanish president has insisted.
“Spain,” he assured, “is not going to spare any effort to achieve the objective of achieving a peace that allows Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security.”
Sánchez’s new tour in the Middle East continues in the midst of an escalation of tension in the region, after Israel’s attacks in Gaza have killed seven volunteers from chef José Andrés’ NGO, World Central Kitchen, and the day before also killed several Iranian military commanders at the ambassador’s residence in Damascus. Iran has also already announced that this attack will not go unanswered.
Sánchez began his official activity in Jordan this Tuesday with a visit to the Palestinian refugee camp which, since its installation in 1948, has become another neighborhood in Amman, with nearly 30,000 inhabitants. The Spanish president has visited the school managed here by the UN agency for Palestine refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA), together with the deputy commissioner general of this organization, Nathalie Bouccy.
Subsequently, Sánchez moved to the Citadel of Amman, where he visited the Umayyad Palace, before being received in audience by the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, at the Al Husseiniya Palace.
In his meeting with Abdullah II, Sánchez praised the role played by the Jordanian monarch since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out in Gaza. The king has stressed to the Spanish leader that the situation of this crisis is very delicate at this time, and has reiterated the urgent need for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza by land. In addition, he has conveyed his concern that there is an escalation of the conflict throughout the region. A threat that, far from dissipating, is increasingly gaining strength.
In the afternoon, the Spanish president plans to continue his current tour of the Middle East in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
