Sánchez does not rule out diplomatic actions against Israel if he does not clarify the attack with the NGO of Spanish chef José Andrés

Raúl PiñaSpecial Envoy Doha

Doha Special Envoy

Updated Wednesday, April 3, 2024-18:04

• Middle East Sánchez demands from Jordan that Israel "clarifies as soon as possible" the "attack" that has killed seven World Central Kitchen collaborators

• Sánchez tour and his two admirers from Barcelona in the citadel of Amman: "Thank you very much for Palestine"

Since the war broke out in Gaza, Pedro Sánchez has reinforced his international profile, being one of the international leaders who most strongly advocates that the solution to the conflict involves the recognition of the two states - the Palestinian and the Israeli. A permanent ceasefire and the holding of a peace conference is the position that he has firmly defended for months. In this context, the President of the Government has made a tour of the Middle East, stopping in

Jordan

,

Saudi Arabia

and

Qatar

. Three key actors in the region and in the solution. From Doha, after meeting with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Sheikh

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani

, Sánchez has not ruled out making diplomatic decisions against

Israel

and if this country does not offer more explanations about the attack that killed seven volunteers from the NGO

World Central Kitchen

.

Sánchez has been reiterating for months that although Israel had the right to respond to the terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023, this country, with its response, is violating international humanitarian law. He said it to the Israeli Prime Minister,

Benjamin Netanyahu

, face to face, during his visit to this country in November 2023. In this context, the President of the Government does not lower his tone and the explanations given by Netanyahu after the murders of the volunteers of the NGO led by the Spanish chef

José Andrés

. The Israeli admitted that the workers died in an "unintentional" Israeli bombing, but defended that this type of thing "happens in war."

Sánchez has described the explanations given as "insufficient" and has demanded "a much more detailed and detailed clarification of what the causes were." The President of the Government has stated that, according to the information available, the Israeli government was aware of the action and the itinerary of this NGO. "Unacceptable" and "insufficient", he repeated. "We await a more determined and detailed clarification." And Sánchez has even gone a step further, not ruling out that if these do not arrive, some type of diplomatic measure may be taken. "From there," he said, "we will see what actions we take regarding the Netanyahu government."

During that tour, which culminates with an audience with the emir of Qatar,

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

, Sánchez has raised the fear of Jordan, Arabia and Qatar that there will be an escalation of war in the region. For the conflict to escalate and involve other regions and countries, overflowing the humanitarian drama that is already being experienced in Gaza. Sánchez has expressed that Spain "is fully committed" to the search for peace and has reiterated that the solution must involve the West recognizing Palestine as a State and the Arab countries doing the same with Israel. For now, Spain is going to vote in favor of Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations. And Sánchez wants Spain to recognize the Palestinian state before the summer.

FEMALE EMPOWERMENT

In Doha, before meeting with the country's highest authorities, the President of the Government held a meeting with seven relevant women from Qatar. Specifically, the president of the Qatar Business Forum, Ibtehaj Al Ahmadani, participated in the event; the founding dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad bin Khalifa University,

Amal Mohamed Al Malki

; the CEO of WATAD Group,

Fátima Darwish

; and Director of Strategic Initiatives at Qatar Foundation,

Aisha Al Mudahka

.

Also the leader of the Qatar Businesswomen Association and the Al Hiba Cancer Society,

Awatef Al Dafaa

; Qatar Olympic shooting team member

Amal Mohamed Mahmoud

; and sports coach

Nada Zeidan

. At the beginning of the meeting, Sánchez boasted of leading a feminist government, of the importance and weight of women in her cabinet and that equality policies are transversal to all the actions of her Government. Furthermore, the President of the Government has stated that the more women there are in relevant positions, the better it will be for the world.

A meeting that, Government sources explain, aims to highlight the importance that Spain gives to the empowerment of women also in Arab countries, but the president's agenda was not scheduled to address the situation of women and their rights in this country. . "We are committed to human rights and equality," said Sánchez when asked about the situation of women. "Women here have special treatment and are very highly respected," said the Prime Minister of Qatar, when asked by the Spanish press about the situation of women. "When we look to the future we think that women should enjoy the same rights and we are providing for that."

However, international organizations continue to denounce the lack of women's rights in this country. In its 2023 report,

Human Rights Watch

documented how Qatar's laws, regulations, and practices impose discriminatory rules of male guardianship on women and harm women's ability to make autonomous decisions about their lives and rights. "Women in Qatar must obtain permission from their male guardians to marry, pursue higher education on government scholarships, work in many government jobs, travel abroad up to certain ages, and receive some forms of reproductive health care."

For its part,

Amnesty International

emphasizes that women in 2022 continued to be discriminated against in law and in practice. Under the guardianship system, women still needed the permission of a male guardian—usually their husband, father, brother, grandfather, or uncle—to marry, study abroad on government scholarships, work in many public jobs, travel abroad, foreigner being under 25 years of age and accessing reproductive health care. And that although national family legislation established that women had the right not to suffer physical harm at the hands of their husband, the protection of women against gender-based violence in the family by other people remained insufficient, as there is no specific law in this regard.