Israel accuses Spanish PM of inciting anti-Israeli protests in Madrid

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The overseas minister additionally alleged that Sánchez had moved to mobilize demonstrators a couple of days after the Spanish chief “lamented not having an atomic bomb to ‘cease Israel.'”

Sa’ar was apparently referring to a speech on Sept. 8 through which Sánchez emphasised Spain’s small stature on the worldwide stage. Madrid doesn't “have nuclear bombs, nor does it have plane carriers or giant oil reserves,” the prime minister mentioned on the time, including that his nation subsequently “can not cease the Israeli offensive.”

The assertion was a part of Sánchez’s wider plea for the worldwide neighborhood to work collectively to cease the deaths of civilians in Gaza.

Tensions between Israel and Spain have been on the rise since 2023, when Sánchez grew to become one of many EU’s most vocal critics of Israel’s navy operations in Gaza within the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist assault. Madrid acknowledged Palestinian statehood final yr, and earlier this week imposed robust new measures on Israel — amongst them a everlasting weapons embargo.

Following that announcement, Sa’ar accused the Spanish authorities of being “antisemitic” and utilizing a “hostile anti-Israeli line” to “distract consideration from critical corruption scandals.” He additionally banned two members of Sánchez’s cupboard from coming into Israel, citing their alleged “help for terrorism and violence in opposition to Israelis.”

Protest motion

Protestors have repeatedly disrupted this yr’s Vuelta a España by blocking the race route whereas carrying Palestinian flags and indicators calling out Israel’s navy operations in Gaza. Over the previous week varied Spanish officers have expressed help for the demonstrations.