The diplomatic crisis between Spain and Israel continues to deepen. The Jewish state announced this Thursday, November 30 that it would recall its ambassador to Madrid for “consultations”, after remarks described as “scandalous” by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The head of the Spanish government, who has emerged in recent weeks as one of the most critical voices within the EU vis-à-vis the Jewish state, has been proclaiming this loud and clear for several weeks: according to him , the Israeli government’s response would be “disproportionate” in Gaza. On November 26, he spoke of a “indiscriminate killing of Palestinians in Gaza”, while recalling “condemning the vile attacks of a terrorist group like Hamas”. “It is not a question of political parties or ideology, it is a question of humanity,” the Spanish Prime Minister said at the time.
At the end of October, the socialist leader had already expressed his “legitimate doubt” about Israel’s respect for international law in its military operations in the Gaza Strip against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
All these statements provoked a very critical reaction from Israel and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who then accused the Spanish socialist leader of “supporting terrorism”, accusing him of not sufficiently condemning the crimes of Hamas.
“Scandalous remarks”
Far from seeking to calm the situation, Pedro Sanchez instead chose to attack again this Thursday, recalling that Israel must “base its actions on international humanitarian law.” Implying quite clearly that this was not the case. “With the images we see [de Gaza]and the increasing number of people dying, especially young boys and girls, I have serious doubts,” he then pointed out.
Comments described as “shameful” by Benjamin Netanyahu, and which therefore provoked the recall of the Israeli ambassador to Spain this Thursday. “Due to the scandalous remarks of the Spanish Prime Minister, who reiterated baseless assertions, I have decided to recall the Israeli ambassador to Spain”, Rodica Radian-Gordon, for “consultations” in Jerusalem, explained the Minister of Israeli Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen on X (ex-Twitter).
Support for recognition of the Palestinian state
This crisis does not seem to be resolved. The socialist Pedro Sanchez, reappointed Prime Minister in Spain only a few days ago in a coalition with the far left, declared during his inauguration speech that he wanted to “work in Europe and in Spain to recognize the Palestinian state”. A mark of support for the two-state solution, the eternal chimera of the 1993 Oslo agreements which never really succeeded in being established, also defended by Emmanuel Macron.
Pedro Sanchez maintained his position this Thursday explaining that this recognition was “in the interest of Europe”, for “a moral reason, because what we see in Gaza is not acceptable”, but also “geopolitical” , because it will help to “stabilize” the region, he continued.
In any case, he has a major asset to push his position in Europe: the rotating presidency of the European Council, currently held by Spain, which could allow him to put this subject on the agenda. But the socialist leader also did not rule out the possibility of unilateral recognition by Madrid while to date, few European countries have officially recognized the Palestinian state, and most before entering the EU. A choice which should not fail to raise eyebrows again on the side of Israel.