Israel announced on Friday that it had summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium due to statements made by the both countries’ prime ministers at the Rafah crossing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I strongly condemn the statements of the Prime Ministers of Belgium and Spain regarding not holding Hamas responsible for the crimes it commits.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that his country condemns what he described as “the false allegations of the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium regarding support for terrorism.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that his country may take a unilateral declaration regarding recognition of the Palestinian state.
Sanchez said in a press conference held in front of the Rafah crossing on Friday, accompanied by his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo, that Spain may make its decision if the European Union does not do so.
The Spanish Prime Minister stressed that the current truce in Gaza is insufficient and there is a need for permanent ceasefire.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received the Spanish and Belgian Prime Ministers on Thursday evening at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah.
De Croo had said earlier that “the European Union must study the issue of preventing extremist Israelis who call for violence against Palestinians from visiting Europe,” while Sanchez called for an end to “the blind killing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
