The municipality of the Spanish city of Barcelona agreed on Friday to "announce the suspension of relations with Israel until there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and respect for the basic rights of the Palestinian people."

This is not the first time that Barcelona has severed its relations with Israel. In February 2023, then-mayor Ada Colao suspended the city's relationship with Israel.

According to the approved Barcelona Statement, the main obstacles to lasting peace are the “occupation and colonization of Palestinian territories” and the “denial of the rights” of the Palestinian people.

Earlier Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that if the European Union does not recognize the Palestinian state, Madrid will do so.

This came during a statement to journalists in Egypt, which he is visiting with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, after their visit on Thursday to Israel and Palestine, to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to a devastating Israeli war since last October 7.

The Belgian Prime Minister said on Friday during his visit to the Egyptian Rafah crossing, "The Israeli response in the Gaza Strip after the deadly attack launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7 must respect international humanitarian law."

He stressed that "the killing of civilians must stop."

For his part, the Spanish Prime Minister who accompanied him said that "the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians (in the Gaza Strip) is absolutely unacceptable."

He considered that "finding a solution to the Gaza crisis is not enough," and insisted that Israel must be the first to take a "comprehensive approach" to resolve the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including "the West Bank and East Jerusalem."

Sanchez called for "the international community and Israel to recognize the State of Palestine."

Following the statements of the prime ministers of Belgium and Spain, Israel summoned the two countries' ambassadors to Tel Aviv to "reprimand" them, while Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez described in a statement the "Israeli government's accusations" against the Spanish and Belgian officials as "false, inappropriate and unacceptable."

The Israeli Foreign Minister's office said, "We condemn the false allegations of the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium, who provide support for terrorism."

He added, "Israel is acting in accordance with international law and is fighting a terrorist organization that commits war crimes and crimes against humanity... We will resume fighting after the ceasefire until the Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip is eliminated and all the kidnapped are released."

For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said, "Netanyahu strongly condemns the statements of the prime ministers of Belgium and Spain, who did not hold Hamas fully responsible for committing crimes against humanity and using Palestinians as human shields."