MADRID: The international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the conflict in Gaza, Spain’s foreign minister said, ahead of a Madrid mee­ting of European and Arab nations on Sunday to urge a halt to Israeli offensive.

Countries Israel had long counted on as allies have been adding their voices to growing international pressure after it expanded its operations against Hamas.

Madrid is 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 told France Info radio.

Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza “massively, unimpeded, neutrally, so that it is not Israel who decides who can eat and who cannot”, he said.

The meeting, which also includes representatives from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, will promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2025