Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in his announcement today

Spain Recognizes Palestinian State, Sparking Diplomatic Clash With Israel

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The Judean Staff
International

In a move that redefines irony, Spain has decided to recognize a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital, despite Jerusalem being the undivided capital of Israel. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has essentially thrown his support behind a government that openly incentivizes terror attacks against Jews in Israel. Meanwhile, he ignores the pleas of those in Catalonia, or the Basque country within Spain who have been fighting for their own State for decades.

On Tuesday, Spain officially acknowledged a “State of Palestine” within the 1967 borders, including the Gaza Strip. This grand gesture ignores the inconvenient fact that before 1967, there was no Palestine and thus no actual borders. Israel, defending itself in a war, captured East Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria from Jordan—a detail international law acknowledges as legitimate. By insisting on pre-1967 borders, Spain inadvertently admits that Palestinians are essentially Jordanian—ironic, given that Jordan revoked their citizenship in 1988.

“With this decision, Spain joins over 140 countries recognizing Palestine,” Sánchez proclaimed, marking the occasion with a misguided sense of grandeur and total lack of historical truth.

“This is a historic decision aimed at achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he continued, conveniently ignoring the history of violence and non-cooperation from the Palestinian side. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords, Israel has come to the negotiating table with several viable offers that were famously turned down by former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and current leader, Mahmoud Abbas. President Clinton, who hosted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Arafat at Camp David where Barak conceded to almost all of Arafat's demands, an offer that would have seen Jerusalem divided and nearly all of Judea and Samaria being transferred to create a Palestinian State. Arafat rejected the offer - and to add insult to injury, it was later discovered he was plotting the second intifada from the peace talks. Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both said on several occasions that it was this moment they understood that Israel did not have a genuine peace partner.

Spain’s recognition, according to Sánchez, is not only about “historical justice” but also a pressing “imperative need to achieve peace.” Apparently, this is the only way to secure a future of peace—a Palestinian state coexisting with Israel. How noble considering the Ehud Olmert offer which went further than Barak's did - and was turned down by Abbas. The simple fact is, the Palestinians do not want a State that exists next to Israel. They want Israel - as their chant goes, "from the river to the sea".

For Palestine to be viable, Sánchez declared, Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip must be connected via a corridor, with eastern Jerusalem as its capital, unified under the “legitimate government” of the Palestinian Authority. One might wonder if Sánchez realizes that this "legitimate government" is notorious for its corruption and support of terrorism.

This decision, he assured, is not against Israel but against Hamas. “This decision reflects our absolute rejection of Hamas, a terrorist organization that opposes the two-state solution,” Sánchez asserted, as if this distinction makes the recognition any less farcical given the Palestinian Authority is controlled by another terror group, Fatah and that they refuse to police other terror groups like Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Abbas also oversees the "pay-to-slay" program that rewards terrorist attacks regardless of group affiliation.

Following the announcement, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted a photo of Israeli and Spanish flags intertwined, writing in Spanish: “The Israeli and Spanish people are friends. We will not allow you or your government to separate us.” He accused Sánchez of complicity in murder and war crimes against Jews in a separate post, drawing a direct line between Sánchez’s actions and the calls for Israel’s elimination by figures like Iranian Islamist leader Khamenei and Hamas militant chief, Yahya Sinwar.

In an act of blatant provocation, Katz posted a video tagging President Sánchez, juxtaposing traditional Spanish music with brutal scenes of Hamas’s atrocities on October 7th. Katz mockingly thanked Sánchez on behalf of Hamas for his service, describing the decision as a “gold medal to Hamas terrorists.”

In response, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares labeled the video “scandalous and disgusting,” vowing not to be provoked. Meanwhile, Katz escalated by forbidding Spain’s consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinian Authority residents, unless explicitly authorized by Israel.

Adding to this diplomatic circus, Norway and Ireland are poised to join Spain in this recognition charade. Norway’s foreign minister handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian Authority prime minister, with Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre claiming that recognition is essential for Middle East peace. Ireland, never missing an opportunity to criticize Israel, hinted at potential EU sanctions against Israel.

In this spectacle of misplaced priorities and historical revisionism, one must wonder if these nations genuinely believe their actions will foster peace or if they are merely pandering to a narrative that conveniently ignores the complexities and realities on the ground.

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