Spanish PM, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation

MADRID — Spanish Prime Minis-ter Pedro Sanchez on Thursday called for a de-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, as Lebanon said 37 people had now been killed by booby-trapped handheld devices.

"Today the risk of escalation is once more increasing in a danger-ous way" in Lebanon, said Sanchez, at a news conference with visit-ing Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

"So we must again make a fresh appeal for restraint, for a de-esca-lation and for peaceful coexistence between countries, in the name of peace," he added.

Sanchez was speak-ing to journalists after more than an hour's talks with Abbas.

Neither Sanchez nor Abbas referred directly to the explosions of electronic devices that rocked Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday in the latest escala-tion of tensions.

Israel has not yet commented on the unprecedented wave of attacks in which Hiz-bollah operatives' pag-ers and walkie-talkies exploded in supermar-kets, on streets and at funerals.

But Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday called on the United Nations to intervene in what he called Israel's "technological war" against it.

Lebanon's Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Thursday 37 people had been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the explosions of the devices over the last two days.

Palestinian state recognition 

Even before that stunning act of apparent sabotage, tensions were running high in the Middle East, in large part due to the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Since the war began, Sanchez has positioned himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause within the European Union.

His socialist government has increasingly taken highly critical positions towards Isra-el's conduct of its campaign against Hamas, rival to Abbas's own Fateh Party.

"The international community and Europe cannot remain impassive in the face of the suffering of thousands of innocents, largely women and children," he added.

Israel's military offensive has killed at least 41,272 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to data provided by the Hamasrun terri-tory's health ministry. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.

Urging a two-state solution, long a cornerstone of international attempts to end the decadeslong conflict, Sanchez said that a Palestinian nation “living side by side with the state of Israel” was the only way to “bring sta-bility to the region”.

He pointed out that this is Abbas’s first visit to Spain since Madrid took the decision to recognise the state of Palestine on May 28. Ireland and Norway took the same decision in May.

“Why is this a good thing? Because Palestine exists and has the right to have its own state,” the premier added.

While Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, the Fateh party chaired by Abbas controls the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.

Abbas expressed his thanks for Sanchez’s support and Spain’s recognition, urging “all states that have not yet recognised us to do so”.