Spanish FM proposes international sanctions on Israel to stop war in Gaza

MADRID, Spain — The international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain’s foreign minister says, ahead of a Madrid meeting of European and Arab nations today to urge a halt to its offensive.

Madrid will host 20 countries as well as international organizations on Sunday with the aim of “stopping this war, which no longer has any goal,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares tells France Info radio.

Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza “massively, unimpeded, neutrally, so that it is not Israel who decides who can eat and who cannot,” he says.

A previous such gathering in Madrid last year brought together countries including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, as well as European nations such as Ireland and Norway that have recognized a Palestinian state.

Sunday’s meeting, which also includes representatives from the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, will promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

After the European Union decided this week to review its cooperation deal with Israel, Albares says, “We must consider sanctions, we must do everything, consider everything to stop this war.”