Diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel are at a point of tension that they have not been at for many years and it does not look like they are going to improve.
The second Vice-President of the Government herself, Yolanda Díaz, from the Communist Party, recently described the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip as “war crimes” and has participated in demonstrations under the slogan “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will win”.
By Samuel Mora
Only a week after being sworn in as Prime Minister of the new Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez brought Spain into a diplomatic conflict with Israel.
The Spanish Prime Minister’s actions and speech generated indignation in Israel, to the point that both governments have summoned the respective ambassadors in their countries for reprimands.
The tour of Sánchez in the Middle East was practically the first act of the Prime Minister after being ratified as such for the next four years and he made sure that it did not go unnoticed. Not only did he blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the war being waged in the Gaza Strip, but from the Rafah crossing in Egypt he took the lead in a hostage-for-prisoner exchange in which he had not participated.
This action corresponds to one of the points he set for this new government, as he made clear in his nomination speech last week, when he assured that he would work to achieve the two-state solution and that he would promote the recognition of a Palestinian state in the European Union, adding now that if the rest of the states do not join him in this objective “Spain will make its own decisions”.
What seemed a purely symbolic and discursive position a week ago, became a risky foreign policy action that is placing Spain on the margins of the European Union. While other leaders such as those of Germany and France have expressed their unrestricted support for Israel, the Spaniard ended up being accused by this country of giving “support to terrorism”.
Sanchez’s partners
The feeling is that Pedro Sánchez is adopting foreign policy positions supported, for the first time, by his government partners. Most of the parties that have given him a yes in the coalition with PSOE, such as Sumar, ERC or Bildu, have positioned themselves in favor of the Palestinian thesis and in a permanent criticism towards Israel.
The second Vice-President of the Government herself, Yolanda Díaz, from the Communist Party, recently described the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip as “war crimes” and has participated in demonstrations under the slogan “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will win”.
A pro-Palestinian stance that extends to other areas of government. Spain currently has two ministers who, in a vote in the European Parliament, refused to condemn the Hamas terrorist acts committed on October 7. These are Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture, and Sira Rego, Minister of Youth and Children, who has even gone so far as to describe Hamas’ actions as part of the Palestinian people’s “right to resist.’’
Diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel are at a point of tension that they have not been at for many years and it does not look like they are going to improve. Pedro Sánchez is determined to go ahead with his project in favor of the Palestinian cause and has the support of the rest of his government and a broad spectrum of Spanish politics.