Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has urged the international community to stop arms deliveries to Israel, stressing the urgency of not fueling the escalation of violence in the Middle East. The statement was made after his meeting in Rome with Pope Francis, where growing tensions in the region were addressed.
“It is imperative that the international community stops exporting weapons to the Israeli government, given the current situation in the Middle East,” Sánchez said. He believes that continuing to supply weapons to Israel could exacerbate the situation in already fragile areas like Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, where hostilities are intensifying.
The call echoes that of French President Emmanuel Macron, who has also spoken out in favor of stopping arms deliveries to Israel. However, these critical positions were poorly received by Israel, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling Macron’s comments a “disgrace.”
Also read: France and Qatar call for an arms embargo against Israel
While Pedro Sánchez stands out as one of the most critical voices in Europe on Israeli policy, the issue of arms deliveries continues to divide Western countries. The United Kingdom recently suspended several arms export licenses to Israel, while Germany took the opposite path by announcing new deliveries, without specifying their nature.
For his part, American President Joe Biden has been reluctant to suspend arms sales to Israel, with the exception of a delivery of bombs last May.
Since the attack carried out by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, Israel has been engaged in a war on several fronts. Military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon add to hostilities in Gaza, while the Jewish state threatens to retaliate for a recent missile attack from Iran.
In this tense context, Pedro Sánchez’s call for a halt to arms deliveries is seen as an attempt to calm the conflicts, although his positions have earned him severe criticism from the Israeli government.
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