Madrid Meeting Statement Calls for Israel’s Full Withdrawal from Gaza

Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares (C) addresses a press conference with (From L) European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borell, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Jordanian Foreign Minster Ayman Safadi following a meeting on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Madrid on September 13, 2024. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares (C) addresses a press conference with (From L) European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borell, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Jordanian Foreign Minster Ayman Safadi following a meeting on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Madrid on September 13, 2024. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
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Madrid Meeting Statement Calls for Israel’s Full Withdrawal from Gaza

Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares (C) addresses a press conference with (From L) European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borell, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Jordanian Foreign Minster Ayman Safadi following a meeting on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Madrid on September 13, 2024. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares (C) addresses a press conference with (From L) European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borell, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Jordanian Foreign Minster Ayman Safadi following a meeting on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Madrid on September 13, 2024. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)

Several Muslim and European countries meeting in Madrid have called for the implementation of the two-state solution in the Palestinian-Israeli crisis and for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, including from the Philadelphi corridor.

Other than the host Spain, in attendance were foreign ministers from Norway and Slovenia, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza that includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Türkiye.

A statement issued following Friday’s meeting said: “We fully support the ongoing mediation efforts undertaken by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and we reject all actions aiming at hindering this mediation process” to end the war in Gaza.

“We are calling repeatedly for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees. We also call for the reestablishment of the full control of the Palestinian Authority over the Rafah crossing and the rest of the borders and the full withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Gaza, including from the Philadelphi corridor,” said the statement.

It said that “the international community must take active steps to implement the two-state solution, including universal recognition of the State of Palestine, and its admission as a full member of the United Nations.”

The conferees also called for the urgent need to deliver humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.



Israel Carries Out More Airstrikes in Gaza

Israeli soldiers take up position next to buildings destroyed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Israeli soldiers take up position next to buildings destroyed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Israel Carries Out More Airstrikes in Gaza

Israeli soldiers take up position next to buildings destroyed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Israeli soldiers take up position next to buildings destroyed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli airstrikes hit central and southern Gaza overnight into Saturday, killing at least 14 people.

The airstrikes in Gaza City hit one home housing 11 people, including three women and four children, and another strike hit a tent in Khan Younis housing Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza's Civil Defense said Saturday.

They followed airstrikes earlier this week that hit a tent camp on Tuesday and a United Nations school housing displaced people on Wednesday.

They hit as a campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio drew down and the World Health Organization said about 560,000 under 10 have recovered from their first dose, seven out of every eight children the campaign aimed to vaccinate.

The second doses are expected to begin later this month as part of an effort for which the WHO said parties had already agreed to.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the campaign as “a massive success amidst a tragic daily reality of life” in a post on X on Friday.