MADRID, Spain: Spain is ready to send peacekeeping troops to Palestine when conditions allow, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Thursday, reaffirming Madrid’s willingness to contribute militarily to international peace efforts, including in Ukraine.
Speaking to a gathering of Spanish ambassadors in Madrid, Sánchez said he would seek parliamentary approval to deploy troops to Palestine once a credible path to peacekeeping and stabilisation emerges.
“I will propose to parliament, when the opportunity presents itself, that we send peacekeeping troops to Palestine, once we can see how to advance this task of pacification,” he said.
He added that Spain had not forgotten Palestine or the Gaza Strip, describing the situation there as “intolerable” and stressing that Spain must play an active role in rebuilding hope for Palestinians.
Commitment to Ukraine
Sánchez also reiterated Spain’s readiness to deploy peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement with Russia, calling the current moment “critical” and “decisive”.
“If Spain has sent peacekeeping troops to many regions far from our country, how could we not send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, a European country?” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly opposed the presence of foreign peacekeeping forces on Ukrainian territory.
Spain’s stance on Gaza
Spain, which formally recognised the State of Palestine in 2024, is one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Since October 2023, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza, killing at least 71,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
In December, Sánchez urged greater international attention to what he called the “dramatic situation” facing Palestinians during a meeting in Madrid with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Proposed International Gaza Board
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is expected to announce the creation of a Gaza Board of Peace next week, according to two US officials and two sources familiar with the plan cited by Axios.
The board, which would be chaired by Trump, is expected to include around 15 international leaders.
Its mandate would be to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and supervise a future Palestinian technocratic administration, the sources said.
Former United Nations Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov is expected to serve as the board’s on-the-ground representative.
He is travelling to Israel this week for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials ahead of the planned announcement.
The expected announcement follows a UN Security Council vote in November that approved a US-drafted resolution endorsing Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
The resolution also called for the creation of an International Stabilisation Force to help secure Gaza’s borders.
