Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Madrid would not accept any form of Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. Albares said the European Union should speak out clearly and firmly against violations in the region.
Albares spoke at a conference titled “The Middle East at a crossroads: A progressive vision,” organized by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. He said unilateral and violent steps in the region were progressively weakening the international order, adding that developments in the Middle East were directly linked to Europe’s security and prosperity.
Albares said Europe could not remain passive in the face of developments in the Middle East and that European countries should defend the dignity of the region’s peoples in line with their own values and principles. He noted that decisions taken by Europe could shape the region’s course over the coming decades.
Diplomacy and Gaza’s reconstruction
Albares said it was necessary to move from the approach of managing the conflict, which had been pursued for years, toward a genuine search for a solution. He said wars, broken ceasefires, forced displacement and the severe humanitarian conditions facing civilians demonstrated the failure of diplomacy.
Emphasizing that the foreign policy of European countries and the European Union should begin with diplomacy, Albares said war could never be a strategy or a political program. He said the severe suffering experienced by civilians in Gaza and Lebanon had undermined trust in the international community.
Albares said humanitarian aid to Gaza was not reaching those in need in sufficient quantities and announced that Madrid had increased its humanitarian support for the Palestinians. He noted that Spain had significantly increased its contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and that some measures adopted by Spain in September 2025 had begun to be implemented by other countries as well.
Albares said financial support should be provided to the Palestinian Authority and that Spain had joined an emergency aid initiative established for this purpose. He said Gaza’s reconstruction was necessary not only on humanitarian grounds but also for regional stability, adding that the process should be led by the Palestinians and that Gaza should be treated together with the West Bank and East Jerusalem as an integral part of the State of Palestine.
Warning over the two-state solution in the West Bank
Albares said rising settler violence and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank were endangering efforts toward a two-state solution. He opposed Israel’s settlement policy and acts of violence that went unpunished.
Reiterating that Spain would not accept the annexation of the West Bank, Albares said they would continue to exert pressure to hold accountable those obstructing the implementation of a two-state solution. He said the European Union’s failure to establish a minimum common position among its 27 members based on international law and shared principles posed a problem for the Union’s authority.
Albares said Spain had called for an international conference to be held for a final resolution to the conflict and that Madrid was coordinating its efforts with its Arab and European partners. Recalling that Spain recognized the State of Palestine in 2024, Albares said these steps showed that international consensus in favor of a two-state solution was growing stronger.
Call for the Palestinian Authority to take part in the process
Albares said the Palestinians’ right to participate in decision-making must be guaranteed to find a long-term solution to the Gaza crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Describing the Palestinian Authority as a key partner in the peace process, Albares said Spain was working to ensure that the authority took part in all transition mechanisms.
Iran, the Gulf, Lebanon and Syria
Albares said the Middle East crisis was not limited to Palestine and that developments in Iran, the Gulf countries and Yemen should be assessed within a comprehensive regional approach. He said the European Union should clearly condemn the repression carried out by the Iranian authorities and attacks against regional partners, particularly the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Albares said Lebanon’s territorial integrity must be preserved and called for an end to developments in the country’s south that had caused deaths and destruction. He said Europe should strongly support efforts to restore the Lebanese government’s monopoly over weapons and state control throughout the country.
Albares said Europe should take part in any new mission that might be established after the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon expires. He said such a mission should ensure both the security of the Israeli people and the Lebanese government’s sovereignty over the country.
On Syria, Albares said the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty must be respected and announced that they were ready to contribute to stabilization efforts through a peaceful and inclusive political transition. Reiterating his call for Israeli forces to withdraw from the occupied Golan Heights, Albares said the partial easing of sanctions by the United States and the European Union could create an opportunity for Syria’s economic recovery with the support of the region.
