Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, assured this Monday, in response to Israel, that it is “out of place” to accuse Spain of being “a paradise for sowing hatred and inciting the destruction of Israel” and warned that, “if someone considers that hatred and anti-Semitism have been incited, they can go to the Prosecutor’s Office.”
The minister thus responded to accusations made this Sunday by the Israeli Embassy in Spain and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he denounced that one of the demonstrations organized this past weekend in Madrid against the offensive in Gaza was called by the Masar Badil Movement, an “organization linked to terrorist groups such as the PFLP and Samidoun,” and that at that rally, held between the Plaza de Legazpi and Atocha, “terrorism was glorified” and the Hamas attacks, perpetrated exactly one year ago, were “celebrated.” “We are outraged and saddened that Spain has become a paradise for sowing hatred and inciting the destruction of Israel,” declared the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“That statement is completely out of place: Spain is a country of tolerance, it is a country where one can live in freedom and have freedom of expression and where any form of incitement to hatred and, of course, anti-Semitism, are not only widely rejected by the whole of Spanish society, but are also in the Penal Code,” said Albares in an interview with La Hora on La 1 of TVE. Therefore, he added, “if anyone considers that any type of crime of incitement to hatred, of anti-Semitism, may have been committed, they can go to the Prosecutor’s Office.”
The Government condemns the Hamas attacks on the occasion of the anniversary
This morning, Pedro Sánchez’s government issued a statement in which it reiterated, on the occasion of the anniversary of those events, “its strongest condemnation of the atrocious terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023.” The Government also expressed its “solidarity to the families and friends of the victims, especially remembering Maya Villalobo and Iván Illaramendi, the two Spanish citizens killed during the terrorist attacks.”
“After a year, the Government expresses its solidarity with the families of the hostages who are still being held and demands their immediate release,” the text continues. “A ceasefire, the release of the hostages, access to humanitarian aid for civilians and an end to violence are necessary,” the Government warns.
The Government also “reiterates its determination to fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination” and undertakes “to continue working for peace in the Middle East and to advance in the implementation of the two-state solution living together in peace and security, the best guarantee of stability for all in the region.”
For his part, Pedro Sánchez himself spread a message on the social network X in which, on the occasion of the “first anniversary of the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel”, he expressed, “once again”, his “strongest condemnation of this cruel and merciless attack”.
“I also reiterate our demand that Hamas immediately release all the hostages it is holding captive in an inhumane manner in Gaza”, he continued. “Today I also want to pay tribute to all the victims who lost their lives that day and who will always remain in our memory”, he added.
According to Sánchez, “those attacks unleashed a spiral of violence that has caused the death of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and now Lebanon”. “The situation is unbearable. The war must end now. Spain will continue to work tirelessly for peace”, he concluded.
New repatriations
On the other hand, and with regard to the repatriation of the Spaniards who remain in Lebanon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs explained that “this week, probably on Wednesday, there will be a new flight.” “This morning we have been in contact with the Ministry of Defense so that one of the planes that is going to fly to Beirut for reasons other than evacuation can return with Spanish citizens who still wish to do so,” he continued.
“Of course, there are practically no Spanish citizens left who have expressed their desire to leave the country,” he said. “Many Spaniards have also left through commercial means that are still available, and I continue to encourage all Spaniards who wish to leave Lebanon to urgently contact our Embassy, which will help them either to get on these flights or to leave on these commercial flights,” he concluded.
The Ministry of Defence has reported this Monday that an A400 aircraft, which carries material for the Spanish contingents deployed in Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon, has been adapted, conveniently, to allow the transfer of people and offer the possibility of 65 Spaniards being able to leave Lebanon next Wednesday, when the arrival of the aircraft is scheduled.
“In coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation,” it continued, “the Ministry of Defence has provided assistance in numerous evacuations and the members of the Air Force and Space Force have ample experience to be able to adapt their flights to the needs of each moment.” “This is the case of this aircraft that combines capabilities to be able to transport material and people, and which leaves this afternoon for Turkey, before arriving in Lebanon and bringing back to Spain the civilians who have requested it,” it concluded.
