Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has declared that peace in Gaza must be built on justice, not forgetfulness — and that those responsible for the genocide against the Palestinian people must be held to account before the world.

Speaking to Cadena SER radio, Sanchez said: “Peace cannot mean forgetting; it cannot mean impunity. Those who were key actors in the genocide perpetrated in Gaza must answer to justice.” His words — unusually strong for a European leader — directly confront Israel’s months-long campaign of mass killings and destruction in the besieged enclave.

Sanchez warned that the recently signed Gaza ceasefire “cannot become a curtain to hide the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people.” He emphasized that true peace requires accountability, recognition of Palestinian suffering, and an end to the culture of impunity that Israel has enjoyed for decades under Western protection.

“Spain and Europe,” he continued, “must not only help rebuild Gaza’s ruins but also rebuild justice — by ensuring that international law applies equally to all, including Israel.”

Recalling his work with the United Nations during the Kosovo War, Sanchez noted that lasting peace in Europe was only achieved after war crimes trials brought justice to victims. “The same must happen for Gaza,” he said. “Without accountability, peace is just a pause between massacres.”

The Spanish leader confirmed that Madrid will uphold its arms embargo on Israel, declaring that no weapons should reach the hands of those who slaughter civilians and bomb hospitals. “Until the ceasefire is consolidated and the process moves definitively towards peace and justice, Spain will not cooperate militarily with Israel,” he said.

Sanchez also expressed readiness to send Spanish troops as part of a future UN peacekeeping mission in Gaza, to help protect civilians and ensure that reconstruction efforts are not again destroyed by Israeli aggression.

His stance stands in sharp contrast to most Western leaders, many of whom have refused to condemn Israel’s war on Gaza as genocide despite overwhelming evidence — tens of thousands killed, neighborhoods flattened, and entire families wiped out.

Sanchez’s insistence on accountability signals a historic shift in Europe’s political conscience. Growing public anger over Israel’s brutality, coupled with mass solidarity protests across European capitals, is pushing more leaders to speak the truth about what is happening in Gaza.

Spain’s prime minister has now emerged as one of the few European voices daring to call Israel’s crimes by their real name: genocide. His demand for justice — not just peace — reflects the rising global awareness that Palestinians have endured more than 75 years of occupation, displacement, and bloodshed.

With Madrid’s firm stance on arms embargoes, accountability, and international law, Spain may well become the first European nation to break the cycle of silence and stand openly with the oppressed people of Gaza — asserting that peace can never come at the cost of justice for Palestine. (ILKHA)