Spain, one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s offensive against Hamas, applauded a verdict by the United Nations’ highest court on Friday that Israel must act to avert acts of genocide in Gaza.
“We welcome the decision of the International Court of Justice and ask the parties to apply the provisional measures it has decreed,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on social network X, the former Twitter.
“We will continue to advocate for peace and an end to war, the release of hostages, access to humanitarian aid and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, so that both nations coexist in peace and security,” he added.
Diplomatic tensions between Israel and Spain have risen as a result of Sanchez’s and other high government officials’ frequent criticism of Israel’s military action in Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack.
In November, Israel recalled its representative to Madrid after Sanchez expressed “serious doubts” about the legality of Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip. However, she returned to Spain earlier this month.
The UN court stated that Israel must take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians,” but did not impose a cease-fire.
At this point, the ICJ was not assessing whether Israel was actually committing genocide in Gaza; that procedure would take several years.