European, Arab nations seek sanctions on Israel

KABUL (Pajhwok): Foreign Ministers of several Arab and European countries have denounced Israeli attacks on Gaza and called for an immediate halt to the violence.
They issued the call at a meeting of European and Arab nations in Madrid on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported.

Participants emphasised the international community should impose sanctions on Israel to stop the war in Gaza.

They also stressed the urgent need to deliver humanitarian aid to the embattled enclave, where the Jewish state has widened its offensive.

Madrid was hosting 20 countries as well as international organisations with the aim of “stopping this war, which no longer has any goal”, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said.

“In this terrible moment, in this humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, we aim to … stop this war … [and to] break the blockade of humanitarian assistance that must go in unimpeded,” Albares told Al Jazeera ahead of the meeting.

A previous such gathering in Madrid last year had brought together countries including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as well as European nations such as Norway and the Republic of Ireland that have recognised a Palestinian state.

Sunday’s meeting, which also included representatives from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, was aimed to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Since the begging of war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, nearly 54,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in Israeli attacks.

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