Eduardo González/Luis Ayllón
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, assured yesterday that he wants “the best relationship with Israel” but warned, in the midst of a diplomatic crisis with the Executive of Benjamin Netanyahu, that he is concerned, “above all, about the death of civilians”. He also assured that “there are European countries that are clearly aligned” with the Spanish position and that even the US has spoken of “the need to reduce as much as possible the number of civilian deaths in Gaza”.
“I aspire to have the best relationship with Israel, but I am concerned, above all, about the death of civilians, and I believe that the feeling of the Government is the feeling of the Spanish population,” said Sánchez on the program Hoy por Hoy, on Cadena SER.
“Obviously, we condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks, we have called from the beginning for the release of the hostages and unconditionally,” but “this number of civilians killed since October 7 in Palestine, in Gaza, is absolutely unbearable and unacceptable,” he continued. “And from there, each government has its position,” he added.
Likewise, Sánchez assured that “there are European countries that are clearly aligned” with the Spanish position, together with others that “are closer to other positions for historical reasons” -in reference, in this case, to Germany- and recalled that the US President, Joe Biden, the Vice President, Kamala Harris, and the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, have also spoken in recent days of “the need to reduce the number of civilian deaths in Gaza as much as possible”. Regarding the diplomatic crisis with Israel, Sanchez assured that he is willing to talk with Netanyahu, with the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, or “with any of the actors in the area”.
Spain and Israel are going through a strong diplomatic crisis due to several statements made by Pedro Sánchez, which have not pleased Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at all. It all began during the tour which the head of the Executive made on November 22 and 23 in the Middle East, in which he affirmed in Jerusalem before Netanhyahu that “the number of Palestinians killed is really unbearable” and defended, at the Rafah crossing, “a lasting cease-fire” in the Gaza Strip.
As a consequence, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, summoned Spain’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, Ana Sálomon, after accusing Pedro Sánchez of “supporting terrorism”. In response, the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, summoned the Israeli ambassador in Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, to whom he warned that “the completely false words directed by the Israeli government towards Pedro Sánchez are unacceptable to us and can never happen again”.
After the mutual summons of the two ambassadors, Albares himself considered the diplomatic conflict settled and even met the next day with Eli Cohen to convey Spain’s desire to “maintain the good relations we have with Israel” and to invite his Israeli colleague to visit Spain. However, the situation was again complicated by new statements made by Pedro Sánchez, in this case on Spanish Television, in which he reiterated that “Israel has to sustain its actions on the basis of International Humanitarian Law” and that he had “clear doubts” that it is doing so. These words caused Netanyahu’s indignation, who immediately afterwards recalled his ambassador to Spain for consultations.
The Spanish ambassador goes to the Foreign Ministry
In addition, the Israeli foreign minister announced last Thursday a new summons to the Spanish ambassador. Ana Sálomon was received yesterday at the department headed by Eli Cohen, reliable sources told The Diplomat.
This is the fifth time that the diplomat has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli soil on 7 October.
As on other occasions, the ambassador was received by the director general for Europe, Daniel Meron, and it seems that the conversation took place in a constructive spirit and reflected a desire to put an end to the escalating dialectic in an attempt to redirect the situation.
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, who was recalled for consultations last Thursday by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, left Spain for Israel on Sunday. The ambassador’s temporary withdrawal came after Sánchez insisted on his criticism of Israel.
Yesterday, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdam called on Spain and Belgium, during a press conference in Lebanon, “based on their bold and correct positions, to lead a European and international movement to visit the Gaza Strip to learn the extent of the crimes of the occupation and the depth of the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza”.
For his part, former Prime Minister José María Aznar said on “Antena 3” that Spain “will pay dearly” for what he described as a “blunderous diplomatic error” in accusing Israel of indiscriminately killing civilians in Gaza. “When one is defending oneself and someone from another country comes along, who is President of the Spanish Government and of the European Council, one takes very good note of what has been said. We will pay the bills we have to pay, these things are not forgotten”, he predicted.
