Spanish PM urges EU to suspend association agreement with Israel

Madrid (ANTARA) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday (10/4) called on the European Union (EU) to suspend the association agreement with Israel, in light of their ongoing bombings against Lebanon and various actions in Gaza.

“We must not allow another Gaza in Lebanon,” said Sanchez, as quoted by the Spanish news agency, Agencia EFE.

He stated that Europe must act in the face of Israel’s “flagrant violations of international humanitarian law.”

According to Sanchez, the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which has been in force since 2000 as the legal basis for EU trade relations with Israel, must be suspended “for consistency and also empathy,” after Israel has “trampled and violated” many articles in the agreement.

“Spain is ready to take this step together with many other European countries,” he said.

He also called for the formation of a European force “not in 10 years, not in two years, but now,” as a response to the threat by US President Donald Trump to withdraw from NATO.

Earlier on the same day, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares also criticised Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, stating that “the level of violence as well as the violations of international law and international human rights committed by Israel are unacceptable.”

Sanchez made the statement after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday (10/4) accused Spain of launching a “diplomatic war” against Israel.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and other humanitarian agencies on Thursday (9/4), Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have resulted in more than 1,700 people killed and nearly 6,000 injured. More than 1 million people, about one-fifth of the country’s population, have been displaced.