Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will travel to Turkey on Friday to reinforce his shared stance with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Gaza, in a bid to ramp up pressure on Israel.

The visit comes as Sánchez increasingly positions Spain as a mediator between Europe and the Arab world, building on long-standing diplomatic ties and Madrid’s recognition of Palestinian statehood – a move recently praised by Erdoğan.

Last weekend, Sánchez was the only European leader to attend the 2025 Arab League summit in Baghdad, where he announced that Spain would submit two proposals to the upcoming UN General Assembly and called for a unified “Euro-Arab” response to achieve regional stability

One proposal, co-sponsored by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, calls for an end to the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. The second urges the Hague-based International Court of Justice to ensure Israel complies with international law

These “will only succeed if there is a broad Arab-European consensus culminating in a decisive action by the entire international community,” he said, adding that the “priority is to strengthen the Euro-Arab-Islamic dialogue to solve the problems of the region.”

Spain as mediator
“No one does as much for peace in the Middle East as Spain” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares claimed before Spanish lawmakers during a November plenary session focused on Spain’s peace efforts in the Middle East.

His remarks reflect Madrid’s efforts to play a “vital role” in regional diplomacy – a position the Sánchez government has actively pursued since the outbreak of war following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Though Spain’s ambition to serve as a link between Europe and the Arab world is not new. Two decades ago, Sánchez’s political mentor, former Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero, launched the “Alliance of Civilizations” initiative to “fill a policy gap” and “foster dialogue” between the West and the Arab-Muslim world.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, Albares has undertaken four diplomatic tours of the Middle East and hosted regular meetings in Madrid with counterparts from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The war in Gaza has been central to these talks, alongside discussions on strengthening bilateral economic and security ties.

Sánchez himself has met with Mahmoud Abbas on five occasions, consistently reaffirming Spain’s diplomatic and humanitarian support for Palestine.

By contrast, diplomatic relations with Israel are virtually non-existent.

Following Spain’s formal recognition of Palestinian statehood in May 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew Ambassador Rodica Radian-Gordon. Dan Poraz, chargé d’affaires, has since served as Israel’s sole diplomatic representative in Madrid.

Escaping domestic troubles
But Sánchez’s move to position himself as a key mediator in the Middle East has raised eyebrows in Madrid, with critics accusing the government of using Gaza as a distraction from mounting domestic troubles.

From victim associations criticising the government’s response to deadly floods in Valencia, to a lack of clarity over April’s national blackout, and ongoing corruption probes into members of Sánchez’s cabinet, the pressure on domestic matters is strong.

The opposition points to a systemic failure of public governance crippling the country’s welfare system, with tight-wing Partido Popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo on Thursday saying Sánchez is using the Gaza situation in “his favour”.

(de)