The Palestinian Foreign Minister sees an "opportunity" to promote peace during the Spanish presidency of the EU

He demands that Spain recognize the State of Palestine and says that "we cannot wait for Israel to change its position"

MADRID, 27 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riad al Maliki, on Thursday called on the Spanish Government to adopt a more active stance when promoting solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stressed that the role of Madrid in the presidency of the European Union (EU) from July supposes "a positive opportunity".

Al Maliki has indicated in an interview with Europa Press that he transferred to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, the importance of "carrying out an important exercise to renew the bilateral negotiations between Israel and Palestine", something in which he hopes that the High Representative of the bloc for Common Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrell, play a role.

Thus, he has stated that "Borrell is in the EU and is a suitable person to fully understand the need" to promote this process of negotiations, at the same time that he has extolled that there is a "very positive relationship" between Albares and the former Spanish minister, which which could open the door to a more active role for both parties at the diplomatic level.

"I think we are going to see more coordination in the coming months (...) and that is also going to help us a lot," stressed Al Maliki, who has also shown his "hope" and "expectation" to see "more interest and more drive from both the EU and Spain to promote this type of activity".

In this sense, he stressed that these activities could help bring "a new beginning" closer to the talks between Israel and Palestine, before influencing the relevance of the meeting that Albares held this Wednesday with his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, also visiting Madrid.

"We are going to see how the Israeli minister reacts to these concepts and, if there is a positive reaction, that would help a lot for Spain to take the lead. If not, Spain can still within the Mediterranean area, which is also important," he argued.

Al Maliki has insisted that the Spanish government "can continue working in the area of ​​the southern shore of the Mediterranean, in the area of ​​the Mediterranean with the Arab world and within the European area with the Arab world". "There are different directions in which Spain can also adopt certain initiatives and I think that Albares wants to (do it)", he has reviewed.

In this way, he stressed that he maintains "good personal and professional relations" with Albares and stressed that "it is very good" for the Spanish Foreign Minister to be able to meet with him and with Cohen "consecutively" to "show where Spain is located in terms of the conflict and show that Spain is very interested, as Spain and as the presidency of the EU, in trying to see and find a way out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

The Palestinian Foreign Minister, who has ruled out that he will meet with Cohen in Madrid, has also revealed that during his meeting with Albares they discussed bilateral relations and "how they can be developed, deepened and expanded", before maintaining that these ties they have been "pretty good" so far.

"We are very satisfied with the relations so far, but there is always room to expand these relations," said Al Maliki, who has asserted that he conveyed "very clearly" to Albares "the need for Spain to make the decision to recognize to the Palestinian state. "We have talked a long time about this issue," he acknowledged.

"I understand that both in Spain and in other European countries, Western in particular, there is that decision to recognize the Palestinian State, it exists, but they are looking for the opportune moment to do it," he said, although he stressed that "the opportune moment is now, to be able to influence Israeli politics and to be able to change the rules of the game that exist in the region."

For this reason, he pointed out that the Palestinian authorities are addressing "how to work to help Spain lead the EU more correctly, more productively, in order to increase the opportunities and possibilities of establishing a lasting peace in the region and between Israel and Palestine ".

Al Maliki also pointed out that during his meeting with Albares, "the importance of reconvening the Hispanic-Palestinian Mixed Commission" was also addressed, which has met only once, in 2010, with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as President of the Government and Miguel Ángel Moratinos in charge of Foreign Affairs.

"Thirteen years is time to renew these activities at the governmental level and there you can also review the entire relationship between Spain and Palestine in an exhaustive way and see where you have to focus, where you have to work more on certain issues, where you have to sign bilateral agreements", he defended.

In this sense, he has stated that both parties "are going to begin to review relations jointly and separately to reach agreements on where to focus" and has included among his objectives a meeting "at the level of presidents of government ".

"That is very important for us and I think that is now the most important task both for Spain and for Palestine in the coming months," explained Al Maliki, referring to a possible meeting between Pedro Sánchez and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmud Abbas.

The Palestinian Foreign Minister has elaborated on the need for Spain and other countries to recognize the State of Palestine, something that he has described as "very important". "It is not a Palestinian decision, it is a collective and individual decision of all the countries that have so far recognized the State of Palestine," he explained.

Thus, he stressed that "Spain and France must lead this process within Europe" and added that "there must be a very important effort, beginning with the United Nations Security Council, so that the State of Palestine has full membership within of the UN system".

"This is going to force Israel to see us as equals," Al Maliki said, asserting that it also "forces" member countries of the international organization "to use international law to intervene and liberate the territory of a member country of the UN occupied by another member country".

He has also stressed that "intervention on the ground is important in terms of the international protection of the Palestinian people" and has argued that "it cannot wait until Israel changes its position" and agrees to start a peace negotiation process.

"The international community must adopt very important measures, it can and has the capacity to take this case to the Security Council and make a decision," he said. "We can't wait for Israel to change her position, because that's not going to happen," she said.

For this reason, he stressed that "the UN Security Council must impose a solution on Israelis and Palestinians, based on International Law and previous resolutions (...) for the two-state solution to be applied."

"The international community must take its own initiative and its collective responsibility to manage peace and security in the world (...) and show that they take this responsibility very seriously. This is the opportune moment to make decisions," he stressed. .

Finally, he recalled that the Palestinian authorities have gone to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to denounce the situation and has expressed his desire that "at the beginning of 2024" the court announces its decision on "how to define the type of system that Israel has created in the Occupied Palestinian Territories during all this time, whether it is a system of occupation and colonization or a system of apartheid and segregation". "That is going to help us a lot", he has settled her.