Spain hosts important Arab and European countries to compel Israel to halt the Gaza assault.
Major European and Arab countries came together for the fifth time to discuss the Madrid Group’s fifth meeting in Spain’s capital.
This year, Spain has been putting more pressure on Israel, with sanctions being imposed on those who impede the establishment of two-state settlements in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In the occupied West Bank, the United Kingdom has halted trade negotiations and sanctioned a number of Israeli settlers. Additionally, punitive measures have been threatened by France and Canada.
And the biggest trading partner of Israel, the European Union, is revising the landmark Association Agreement, which covers political dialogue and trade.
Why is this happening now, though, after 20 months of Israel’s destruction of Gaza?
Are these actions more than diplomatic symbolic gestures to Palestinians, and not anything else?
Presenter: Tom McRae
Guests:
Member of the European Parliament and head of the delegation tasked with maintaining relations with Palestine
Mouin Rabbani is a Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies non-resident fellow.
Source: Aljazeera
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