Early this Tuesday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez have the details of what Spain's recognition of the Palestinian State will entail. He did so in an institutional appearance from the Moncloa government palace, just before the meeting of the Spanish cabinet which was to approve the decision. He stated that "the only goal is peace" between Palestinians and Israelis. "We want to have the best possible relationship with Israel", the Spanish PM also affirmed during his speech. The Socialist (PSOE) leader gave details of Spain's vision of the Palestinian state from now on: "The State of Palestine must be viable, with the West Bank and Gaza connected by a corridor and with East Jerusalem as its capital, and unified under the legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority".
The Spanish president clarified that it is not up to his government to define the borders of other countries, but noted that the Spanish position is alligned with resolutions of the UN Security Council as well as the position maintained by the European Union. "Therefore, we won't recognize changes in the 1967 borders that are not agreed upon by both parties," he stated. With this Tuesday's decision, Spain joins a list of 140 states that have already recognized Palestine. Pedro Sánchez delivered his communication in both Spanish and English - without taking questions - a decision that was taken in a coordinated way with Ireland and Norway.
During his appearance, Pedro Sánchez assured that the decision "is not against anyone, least of all Israel, a friendly nation that Spain values and holds in high regard and with whom we aim to foster the strongest possible relationship". And he insisted that, for Spain, Hamas is a terrorist organization that has the "absolute rejection" of his government, as it "is against the two-state solution". "Starting tomorrow we will focus all our efforts to implement the two-state solution, with the priority of putting an end to the unprecedented crisis in Gaza; I call once again for a ceasefire, the entry of humanitarian aid and the release of all the Israeli hostages by Hamas," said the Socialist leader during his appearance.