The Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated on Tuesday that “Spain rejects any possibility of illegal annexation of Gaza or the West Bank,” following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of his intention to “go for total occupation of the Gaza Strip.”

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In an interview with the radio station Onda Cero, Albares emphasized that both Spain and the European Union, “once again driven and led by Spain,” will “never” recognize an annexation of either Gaza or the West Bank.

He believes that “illegal annexations” are “also a direct attack on the two-State solution,” which is “the only solution,” and therefore against the existence of a “realistic and viable” Palestinian state.

Albares pointed out that the “illegal annexation” is happening “de facto” because the Israeli army already has “absolute control” and is “forcibly and shamefully displacing the civilian population,” which he described as “another tremendous crime under international law.”

The Spanish Foreign Minister avoided directly calling Israel’s actions “genocide” again, but recalled that Spain is involved in the South African lawsuit at the international court based on the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Asked about the European Union’s involvement, he argued that “Europe has done too little, too late” and can do “much more,” reaffirming support for suspending the association agreement with the Zionist regime in response to “a flagrant, daily, and constant violation of human rights in Gaza.”

Regarding Spain’s humanitarian aid dropped by parachute over Gaza, the minister acknowledged, as he said previously, that it is “a drop in the ocean” and “not the solution,” but declared that if that aid saves the life of a single Palestinian baby, he considers himself “satisfied.”

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