https://arab.news/2q2ay
- Ione Belarra, who is secretary-general of Spain’s ruling left-wing Podemos Party, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza
LONDON: Spain’s outgoing minister for social rights has accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of “whitewashing” Israel’s premier Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ione Belarra, who is secretary-general of Spain’s ruling left-wing Podemos Party, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas and accused the country last month of committing a “planned genocide” in the enclave.
In a clip posted to X, formerly Twitter, Belarra said she and her colleagues were “concerned” that Sanchez’s trip to Israel on Thursday “could be used to whitewash Netanyahu, who is a war criminal.”
She added that Sanchez should travel to Brussels instead, where decisions were made that could “truly exert pressure on Israel and Netanyahu to achieve a permanent ceasefire.”
Belarra said: “In Brussels, exemplary economic sanctions against Netanyahu and his political leadership could be agreed upon, similar to what was done against Putin.”
Sanchez should be working with European leaders in Brussels toward suspending diplomatic relations with Israel, she added.
“From our point of view, people are exhausted, tired of the EU doing absolutely nothing while a genocide against the people of Palestine is taking place, and we need concrete actions.”