08/September/2025
MADRID, September 8, 2025 (WAFA) – Spain’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it recalled its ambassador in Israel for consultations in response to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s remarks accusing Madrid of anti-Semitism following its new measures against Israel-bound ships and aircraft over the genocidal aggression on Gaza.
“The Spanish Government strongly rejects the false and slanderous accusations of anti-Semitism made by the Israeli Government against Spain and the Spanish people, as well as the unacceptable ban on two members of the Spanish Government entering Israel,” the Spanish Foreign Ministry said in a press statement.
It explained that “The measures relating to the inhumane situation in Gaza and the West Bank, announced today by the President of the Spanish Government, reflect the majority opinion of Spanish society and are adopted within the framework of its sovereignty and in line with its defence of peace, human rights and international law.”
The Ministry reaffirmed the Spanish Government’s firm support to “the existence of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in good neighbourliness and guaranteeing each other peace and security”.
It demanded that Israel “end its occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, end the violence unleashed against the Palestinian civilian population and end the humanitarian blockade of the Strip.
“The Spanish Government will not be intimidated in its defence of peace, international law and human rights,” it concluded.
Earlier today, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced nine measures against Israel to “stop the genocide in Gaza, pursue its perpetrators and support the Palestinian population” as the war approaches the two-year mark.
At the heart of the package is a royal decree law to formalise and make permanent Spain’s embargo on the purchase and sale of weapons, ammunition and military equipment to Israel.
Additional measures include banning ships carrying fuel for the Israeli army from docking in Spanish ports, and denying access to Spanish airspace for state aircraft transporting defence material bound for Israel.
Madrid will also bar entry to individuals “directly involved in genocide, human rights violations and war crimes” in Gaza, a prohibition that could apply to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government.
Madrid will also prohibit imports from Israeli colonies in the occupied West Bank, while restricting consular services to Spanish citizens living in those colonies to a bare minimum.
On the humanitarian front, Sanchez pledged enhanced support for the Palestinian Authority, including a larger Spanish presence in the EU mission in Rafah and new cooperative projects.
Spain will also contribute an additional €10 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and increase its overall humanitarian aid to Gaza to €150 million by 2026.
Spain bars far-right Israeli ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich from entering Its territory
MADRID, September 9, 2025 (WAFA) – Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced on Tuesday that far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have been included on the list of sanctioned individuals banned from entering Spanish territory.
In a press statement, Albares said the two Israeli ministers were added to the sanctions list and would not be permitted entry, adding that the situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating by the day.
He stressed that the moral duty compels Spain to act within its national and European sovereignty, and in accordance with human rights.
Albares further stated that the war in Gaza is causing an unacceptable number of casualties, and that starvation threatens 250,000 people in the besieged Strip.
Human Rights Watch: Latest Israeli plan for Gaza inches closer to extermination
BEIRUT, May 15, 2025 (WAFA) – The Israeli government’s plan to demolish what remains of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure and concentrate the Palestinian population into a tiny area would amount to an abhorrent escalation of its ongoing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and acts of genocide, Human Rights Watch said today.
“Hearing Israeli officials flaunt plans to squeeze Gaza’s 2 million people into an even tinier area while making the rest of the land uninhabitable should be treated like a five-alarm fire in London, Brussels, Paris, and Washington,” said Federico Borello, interim executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Israel’s blockade has transcended military tactics to become a tool of extermination.”
The United Nations has warned that Gaza is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the beginning of hostilities. The world’s foremost experts on food insecurity, the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), said on May 12 that there is a “high risk” that famine will occur in Gaza in the coming weeks, with one in five people likely to face starvation.
The World Health Organization said on May 11 that Gaza is experiencing “one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” citing a Ministry of Health report that at least 57 children have died from malnutrition in Gaza since the blockade began.
According to the Israeli government, 58 Israeli hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza, of whom 23 are believed alive. Palestinian armed groups should im
mediately and safely release all civilians they detain, just as Israeli authorities should immediately and safely release all unlawfully held Palestinians.
In early May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved a plan dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots,” which it says could start as soon as US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region concludes on May 16. The plan involves forcibly displacing much of the Palestinian population of Gaza while seizing and occupying the territory.
“States that are party to the Genocide Convention committed themselves not just to punish genocide, but also to prevent it from taking place,” Borello said. “Failing to act to stop Israeli authorities from starving civilians in Gaza and further rendering it unlivable flies in the face of the very purpose of the convention.”
UN child rights committee condemns using starvation of children as weapon of war in Gaza
GENEVA, September 9, 2025 (WAFA) – The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed its deepest concern today over the catastrophic impact on children of the ongoing hostilities in Gaza, ahead of the upcoming 80th United Nations General Assembly session, and urgently reiterated its calls for decisive action by all States, and in particular by Israel as a de facto occupying force.
The Committee highlighted that the famine has now taken hold in Gaza. Malnutrition among children is accelerating at a catastrophic pace. The Committee echoed the multiple UN agencies’ warning that, without immediate and unhindered humanitarian access, the manmade famine will spread, and more children will die.
“The Committee is gravely concerned about the denial of basic necessities for survival. Children in Gaza are enduring unimaginable suffering due to acute malnutrition, starvation and conditions of famine,” it said.
“Essential services have also collapsed: safe drinking water, sanitation, and adequate health care are non-existent. Civilian infrastructure has been essentially destroyed, leaving children deprived of the minimum conditions required for survival and development,” the Committee added.
At the same time, children continue to be direct victims of ongoing military attacks. Over the weekend, the Israeli army intensified its bombardment of Gaza City, repeatedly striking residential towers and leaving them in ruins.
“Confirmed reports indicate horrific levels of killing, maiming, and widespread violence against children. Countless children have lost parents, siblings, and extended family members, leaving them in profound grief and with extreme psychological trauma that will affect their lives for years to come,” the Committee said.
“Israel’s ongoing actions constitute outright violations that strike at the very heart of the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” the Committee stressed.
The Committee also urged Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza.
“Israel must take immediate action to end its obstruction of humanitarian aid and must guarantee that unrestricted, sustained and secure assistance reaches the people of Gaza. It must take measures to protect children in Gaza from further harm, and respect and uphold their inherent rights and dignity in full compliance with the Convention,” the Committee said.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 