Israel asks Spain not to back Palestine at UN
Tel Aviv representative visits Madrid after Spanish minister's call for European move to recognize two states
Israel on Thursday requested that Spain abstain from supporting the unilateral initiative of the Palestinian state in the UN for official recognition by the global overseer as an independent nation.
The Israeli vice minister of foreign affairs, Daniel Ayalon, met with Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez in Madrid in what was described as a "cordial" encounter after Ayalon had expected to be received by Jiménez's number two.
Jiménez told Ayalon, who argued that Palestine's move goes against the Oslo accords, that Spain is yet to reach a decision and stressed that the text to be submitted to the General Assembly should also include recognition of Israel and security guarantees. Israel this week objected when Jiménez told EL PAÍS that she would lobby EU states to support the Palestinian move.
