Algeria, Spain to Discuss Trade Relations, Immigration Crisis

The former Algerian Prime Minister with the Spanish Minister in Algeria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The former Algerian Prime Minister with the Spanish Minister in Algeria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Algeria, Spain to Discuss Trade Relations, Immigration Crisis

The former Algerian Prime Minister with the Spanish Minister in Algeria (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The former Algerian Prime Minister with the Spanish Minister in Algeria (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares is expected to arrive in Algiers on Monday to meet with officials and discuss the full resumption of trade between the two countries following the end of their political crisis a short time ago, according to Algerian government sources.
The meetings will also address illegal immigration, the desert conflict, the turbulent political and security situation in the Sahel, and the tragic humanitarian crisis in Gaza in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Strip.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry announced that Albares would visit Algeria at the invitation of its Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, without providing details about the duration and the purpose of the visit.
Algerian official sources suggested that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune or Prime Minister Nadir Larbaoui would receive the Spanish official.
They confirmed that several issues would be discussed between Albares and Attaf, most notably the return of intra-trade, the situation in Mali, and the Sahara issue, which was a subject of disagreement between the two countries.
They would also discuss the Israeli war on Gaza, as Algeria and Spain share similar positions, the most prominent of which is the necessity of stopping the aggression immediately and allowing aid to enter the Strip.
Signs of a breakthrough in relations between the two countries appeared last November following the return of the Algerian ambassador to Madrid 20 months after his withdrawal.
In December, the Algerian airline resumed its flights to major Spanish cities after several months' halt.
The crisis with Spain began after the Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, sent a letter to the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, in March 2022, declaring his country's support for the Autonomy Plan to resolve the dispute over Western Sahara.
Algeria considered the position a "departure from neutrality," regarding the issue causing a rift between Algiers and Rabat for many years, and suspended the "treaty of friendship" with Madrid, which dates back to 2002.
Following the ambassador's withdrawal, Algeria stopped all its trade exchanges with Spain, which caused significant financial losses to dozens of Spanish institutions.
It also created a severe scarcity of materials in the Algerian market.
Spanish goods exported to Algeria were valued at around 3 billion euros before the unprecedented political crisis between the two countries.
Gas was excluded from the trade boycott because the two countries had long-term contracts related to the sale of energy.
A few weeks ago, Attaf told the media that the end of the rift with Spain is a change in Madrid's position regarding the Sahara issue.
He referred to President Pedro Sanchez's speech at the UN General Assembly last September, in which he stressed that Spain supports the Special Envoy of the UN Sec-Gen to the Western Sahara.
He stressed that his government would continue to support the region's people in refugee camps as it had always done.
For the Algerians, Sanchez's failure to confirm support for the Autonomy Plan for the Sahara amounted to a disparity from the previous position.
The Algerian President was also quoted as saying at a cabinet meeting last September that Spain has begun to align with the European decision on the Sahara issue, which is to support the efforts of the UN in favor of a political path to reach a just and lasting political solution, acceptable to all parties.



Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 17 in Gaza as Ground Troops Enter Palestinian Territory’s North

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 17 in Gaza as Ground Troops Enter Palestinian Territory’s North

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in the Gaza Strip early Friday, as Israel sent more ground troops into the Palestinian territory to ramp up its offensive against Hamas.

At least 17 people, some from the same family, were killed after an airstrike hit the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital staff. Hours later, people were still searching through the rubble, looking for survivors.

The attack came a day after Israeli strikes killed at least 100 Palestinians. Hundreds more have died in the past two weeks, as Israel has intensified operations, intended to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages it took during its attack on Israel in October 2023. On Friday, Israel said it had begun ground activity in northern Gaza, in order to expand its security zone.

Israel’s military had issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza before expected ground operations. The UN humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas last month.

In recent days, Israel has vowed to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor across it.

To pressure Hamas, Israel has imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle — a tactic that rights groups say is a war crime. Israel said earlier this week that enough food had entered Gaza during a six-week truce to sustain the territory’s roughly 2 million Palestinians for a long time.

Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.

The predawn strike on Friday hit a three-story building. In addition to the dead, the attack wounded at least 16 people from the same family. Associated Press reporters saw bodies being carried out in blankets, while others searched for people trapped under the rubble and collected charred remains.

“We don’t know how to collect them and how to bury them. We don’t know whose remains these are. They were burned and dismembered,” said Ismail Al-Aqqad, whose brother died in the strike, as well as his brother’s family.

On Thursday, more than 30 bodies, including women and children, were taken to hospitals in and around Khan Younis, according to hospital staff.

Israel said Friday that it had killed a top Hamas commander in a strike in Lebanon’s coastal city of Sidon. Israel said that Hassan Farhat was a commander of Hamas’ western area in Lebanon and that he was responsible for numerous attacks against Israel, including one in February 2024, which killed an Israeli soldier and injured others.

In Israel’s renewed offensive, troops have expanded the buffer zone, retaking the eastern section of the Netzarim corridor and partially disconnecting northern and southern Gaza.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, known as ACLED, reported there were over 300 airstrike events during 10 days at the end of March — nearly 10 times the number in February.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as part of Israel's offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. The ministry says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The war has left most of Gaza in ruins, and at its height displaced around 90% of the population.