BarcelonaPedro Sánchez has announced a series of additional measures against Israel and "against the genocide" in Gaza. There are nine in total, and the most notable is the approval of a decree-law establishing an arms embargo on Israel. "The legal and permanent prohibition on the purchase and sale of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment in Israel," the Spanish president announced in an institutional statement this morning from the Moncloa Palace. This was one of the measures long demanded by civil society organizations such as Sumar, the minority partner of the Spanish government, and Podemos. However, Yolanda Díaz's party demanded that the embargo cover defense and dual-use material, but pending the finalization of the decree-law, Sánchez's initiative is limited to weapons.
The head of the Spanish government has also announced that he will ban entry into Spain to all persons who "participate in genocide, human rights violations, and war crimes in the Gaza Strip." This measure is also in addition to the ban on transiting through Spanish ports for "all ships carrying fuel destined for the Israeli armed forces." The Spanish government will also deny entry into Spanish airspace to aircraft "carrying Israeli defense material" and will prohibit the import of products from the "illegal settlements" in Gaza and the West Bank in order to "combat the occupations, halt the forced displacement of the Palestinian population, and keep the two-state solution alive." The Spanish government will also "limit" consular services to Spanish citizens residing in Israeli settlements to the "minimum mandatory assistance."
Furthermore, regarding humanitarian aid, Sánchez announced that Spain will "strengthen" its support for the Palestinian Authority by "increasing the number of troops" for the European Union's border assistance mission in agriculture and will also promote new medical collaboration projects. The Spanish government will also expand its contribution to UNRWA, the UN refugee agency, allocating an additional €10 million. Finally, Sánchez also announced that he will increase the humanitarian aid budget to €150 million by 2026.
Spain, one of the European countries most critical of Israel's brutal war in the Gaza Strip, recognized the Palestinian state at the end of May, in a coordinated action with Ireland and Norway. "All of this has served to combat indifference and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and give them a horizon of hope. But it has not succeeded in ending the massacre," Sánchez argued, justifying the Spanish government's decision to adopt additional measures. These measures were applauded by the Second Vice President of the Spanish government, Yolanda Díaz, although she also called for the withdrawal of the Spanish embassy in Tel Aviv. Moncloa intends for this initiative to have an impact on the European Union, where Spain has unsuccessfully advocated for an end to trade relations with Israel. In fact, the Spanish government criticizes Brussels for playing an almost complicit role with Israel.
Israel's response
Sánchez's remarks were almost immediately responded to by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in a tweet. Saar called the Spanish government "corrupt" and described the measures as a "relentless anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic attack." The Israeli government has adopted two measures in response to Sánchez: it will ban the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, and the Minister of Children, Sira Rego, from entering the country. Saar justifies this by the statements they have made against Israel, accusing it of having committed "war crimes," among others. The Israeli government, the Foreign Minister assures, does not rule out further measures against Spain.
Saar believes that the statements made by members of the Spanish government are "tainted" by antisemitism and, therefore, has announced that he will raise this issue with the International Holocaust Reconstruction Alliance (IHRA). "The government of Israel, as the state of the Jewish people, has a duty to stand up and warn against institutionalized antisemitism and present it for what it is," the foreign minister justifies. Saar also looks back at history to justify his position, recalling "the crimes of the Inquisition, forced religious conversions, and the expulsion and complete cleansing of Jews from Spain at the end of the 15th century." In this regard, the minister recalls that Spain was "the last of the European countries" to "establish diplomatic relations with Israel." Relations that the Israeli government now believes the Pedro Sánchez government is "deliberately and blatantly damaging." The Spanish foreign ministry responded by calling the accusations "false and slanderous."
Feijóo: "What Israel is doing is unacceptable."
In statements to Telecinco, PP leader and head of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, criticized Sánchez's measures, although he struggled to find the arguments. The PP leader, in fact, wanted to make it clear that "what Israel is doing to the civilian population of Gaza is unacceptable" and that "blocking humanitarian aid [in the Strip] is unforgivable." "Israel must comply with international law," he said.
Regarding the specific measures, Feijóo stated that the Spanish prime minister only seeks to satisfy his partners. In this regard, he criticized Sánchez for not having agreed on them with the main opposition party and added that what he should have done was take the issue to Europe to seek a "clear" statement. However, her main criticism has been the fact that, in her opinion, Sánchez "has not spoken about Hamas, has not demanded the return of the hostages, and has not spoken about the tunnels Hamas has under hospitals and schools." The reality, however, is that the Socialist leader condemned the Islamist group's "terrorist attacks and kidnappings" in his statement and defended "Israel's right to exist."
From Podemos, its general secretary, Ione Belarra, believes that the Spanish government "has not stopped lying" over the last two years when it said it was no longer trading arms with Israel. The Podemos leader questions Sánchez's decision to adopt a decree law that would require approval by Congress, "exposing himself to lose it to Junts," instead of a decree that does not require approval in the Lower House. She also denounces the fact that not all commercial, diplomatic, cultural, and sports relations with the Netanyahu regime have been severed.
Brussels criticizes the flotilla to Gaza, saying it could "escalate" the war.
The European Commission has criticized the flotilla that left Barcelona for Gaza, and EU spokesperson Eva Hrncirova has made it clear that Brussels "does not support it." "The situation could escalate, and the participants themselves could be put at risk," the spokesperson said at a press conference.
Hrncirova also argued that the "best way to deliver humanitarian aid is through the European Union's partners," although it is not arriving and, in fact, this is one of Brussels' main complaints against the Netanyahu government. In any case, the European Commission spokesperson emphasized that "it is completely...