Israel summons the Spanish ambassador after Sánchez says he does not trade with a "genocidal state."

BarcelonaNew diplomatic crisis between Spain and Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu's government has summoned the Spanish ambassador over what it considers to be "harsh statements" by Pedro Sánchez. "Following the harsh statements by the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish ambassador to Israel has been summoned to a reprimand meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem tomorrow," Tel Aviv sources quoted by Efe indicate.

What statements is he referring to? Israel's outrage comes after Sánchez stated this Wednesday in Congress, in a response to Republican Gabriel Rufián, that his government does not trade "with a genocidal state." The ERC spokesperson had criticized the president for the continued purchase of arms between Spain and Israel during the war in Gaza, although the state government denies this. "I'll clarify one thing, Mr. Rufián. We do not trade with a genocidal state. We do not, Your Honor. And I believe that the other day from that podium I specifically clarified what we were talking about when some things were mentioned that were not true," Sánchez responded.

The Spanish government has been one of the most critical of the EU and NATO regarding the Israeli offensive in Gaza, so there had already been prior tensions. And after Netanyahu was indicted in international courts for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Madrid claimed to have established an embargo.de factohalting arms sales operations with Tel Aviv. As evidenced in recent days, onereport by the Delàs Center for Peace StudiesHowever, "the bulk of the arms relations between Spain and Israel have not only been maintained but are more vibrant, abundant, and lucrative than ever."

The controversy over this contradiction had forced Sánchez to announce days before the termination of a bullet purchase contract from an Israeli company in response to protests from Sumar, the PSOE's partner in the coalition government. It involved a contract with IMI Systems to purchase 15 million rounds of ammunition for the Civil Guard, for a total of €6.6 million. Following the Moncloa's reversal, Israel "strongly" condemned the decision and accused Spain of "sacrificing security considerations for political reasons."

While Israel and its leaders are prosecuted in international courts for war crimes in GazaTel Aviv already said that Madrid remains "on the wrong side of history" and "against the Jewish state, which is defending itself against terrorist attacks."