Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez—an outspoken critic of Israel—called on Monday for a state of Palestine to be admitted to the United Nations, after a French-led summit on recognition. Alongside those proposals, his government approved a “total” arms embargo on Israel, part of a package of measures aimed at halting what Sánchez called “the genocide in Gaza.”
Spain, like Ireland and Norway, already recognised a Palestinian state in May. PM Sánchez thinks that the next step is to make Palestine a member of the UN.
Sánchez told the United Nations General Assembly
This conference marks a milestone, but it’s not the end of the road. It’s only the beginning … The State of Palestine must be a full member of the United Nations.
The process for the State of Palestine to join this organisation must be completed as soon as possible, on an equal footing with other states
The left-wing Spanish prime minister has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s response to the Hamas-led October 7 pogrom. After demanding Palestine’s UN membership, Spain approved an embargo on Israel. Sánchez announced the arms embargo this month as part of a package of nine measures aimed at stopping what he called “the genocide in Gaza.”
The embargo is based on a decree that prohibits all exports to Israel of defence material and dual-use products or technologies and the import of such equipment to Spain, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo told a news conference.
According to Cuerpo, it also blocks requests for the transit of aircraft fuel with potential military applications and bans imports of products originating from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, including their advertising.
The Spanish government says the decree “consolidates in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel that it had applied since the start of the Israeli war in Gaza. The decree will come into force immediately, but it must still be approved at a later date by parliament—where Sánchez’s left-wing government lacks a majority and has struggled to pass legislation.
