MADRID, May 26, 2025 | Prime Minister’s Office – Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mustafa said that Israel is using the man-made famine it deliberately imposed and weaponized as part of its genocidal war strategy against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. He emphasized that following the Palestinian Government’s declaration of Gaza a famine zone, the international community must now act with the urgency and seriousness that such a declaration demands.

Speaking at the opening session of the Expanded Ministerial Meeting of the Madrid Group on the Question of Palestine (Madrid+) hosted in Madrid, Prime Minister Mustafa stressed that the deliberate denial of food and aid, the relentless bombardment, and the destruction of every element of life constitute clear and ongoing war crimes.

“The picture in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, is equally dire,” he continued. “Rampant settlement expansion, settler terrorism with impunity, home demolitions, and mass displacement — this hell must end immediately and unconditionally.”

The Prime Minister expressed hope that the recent preparatory meeting for the high-level UN conference on a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question and the implementation of the two-State solution — held in New York — would lead to a clear path and actions for the implementation and realization of the Palestinian state on the ground.

"This is the moment," he stressed, "to create irreversible international momentum toward full and universal recognition of the State of Palestine, and to ensure the political, legal, and financial support necessary to the Palestinian Government, to uphold the rights of our people and preserve the two-State solution."

On the sidelines of the meeting, Prime Minister Mustafa held a number of diplomatic meetings. He met with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and thanked him for hosting the meeting and for Spain’s steadfast support for the Palestinian cause at international forums.

He also met with Norway’s Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, and briefed him on the catastrophic situation facing the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, as famine intensifies due to Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian aid, the ongoing massacres against civilians, and the deliberate destruction of medical facilities. He also highlighted the escalating violations by Israeli occupation forces and settlers against Palestinian citizens and their properties in the occupied West Bank.

Minister Eide expressed Norway’s rejection of Israel’s proposed mechanisms for aid distribution in Gaza, which violate international law. He also affirmed Norway’s support for the upcoming Middle East Peace Conference to be co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia in New York on 17 June, as well as for the Palestinian Government and its reform program.

In a meeting with Portugal’s Foreign Minister, Paulo Rangel, Prime Minister Mustafa stressed the importance of Portugal joining the Madrid Group, and highlighted its role in supporting international efforts in favour of the Palestinian cause, as well as backing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the Gaza Reconstruction Plan adopted by the League of Arab States during the Cairo Conference held on March 4.

In a separate meeting with UK Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, Hamish Falconer, the Prime Minister underscored the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate entry of humanitarian aid, as well as for swift action to halt Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

Mustafa also met with Malta’s Minister for Social and Economic Housing, Roderick Galdes, and thanked him for Malta’s recent announcement of its intention to recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming UN-hosted Conference on Peace scheduled for next month.