The King has advocated this Thursday for the recognition of the Palestinian state, together with Israel, as the only way to end the cycle of violence that the area is experiencing and that is now taking shape with the tragedy in Gaza. Felipe VI made this call at the closing of the Conference of Ambassadors that was held in Madrid, where, in addition, he asked the international community to mobilize and help the parties so that the agreements of the Peace Conference are fulfilled. of Madrid held in 1991.
The King’s words respond to the position that successive governments have maintained for years since, since the aforementioned conference, Spain has been directly involved in the search for a political solution in the area. During his reign, Felipe VI has defended the two-state solution, which is that of the current government, on several occasions, although since the war broke out in Gaza he had not reaffirmed this position.
In his words, before the Spanish ambassadors, the King reminded them that their diplomatic mission “regarding any armed conflict is logically essential.” “Your work,” he continued, “is key to reversing the situation in the face of aggressions such as that suffered by Ukraine, in the face of crises such as that in the Middle East, or in the face of conflicts and instability in many places in Africa such as the Sahel.” It was at that point that he referred to the current situation in the Middle East, stating that “the tragedy that Gaza is experiencing is shaking the conscience of Humanity, as did the terrorist attack that Israel suffered on October 7, “the worst in its history.”
The King then requested that “in addition to the condemnation and call for the release of all hostages, and the request to respect International Law and International Humanitarian Law, we must also continue to insist that, without a political solution, that involves the establishment of the Palestinian State alongside Israel, it will not be possible to stop this cycle of violence or prevent it from being repeated.”
The King already referred to the search for a political solution when last October, at the Princess of Asturias awards ceremony, he discussed the figures of the Prime Minister of Israel Isaac Rabin and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat. , who, like King Hussein of Jordan, at the time, received the then-called Prince of Asturias awards. He recalled that the three worked “with effort” to create the conditions of peace in the region, following what was agreed, in 1991, at the Madrid Peace Conference where the establishment of the Palestinian state was agreed. “Because it is,” said the King, in Oviedo, “the only way to guarantee a better and secure future for all Humanity.”
The Conference of Ambassadors, held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together in Madrid, in the presence of Minister José Manuel Albares, some 130 heads of Spanish diplomatic legations around the world.