<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Israeli Embassy, Dan Poraz, in response to "his unacceptable statement on the Spanish government," according to sources at the Ministry headed by José Manuel Albares, who spoke to <em>The Diplomat</em>.</strong></h4> Poraz released a statement on the social media platform X on Thursday in which he accused President of the Government Pedro Sánchez of "initiating an anti-Israeli crusade." The chargé d'affaires was responding to the Prime Minister's statements upon his arrival in Brussels to participate in the European Council, in which he warned that "Europe must suspend the Association Agreement with Israel, and it must do so immediately." In this regard, the President of the Goverrnment referred to the report submitted by the Human Rights Rapporteur to the EU Foreign Ministers on "the catastrophic situation of genocide unfolding in Gaza," which was echoed by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and which demonstrates that "it is more than evident" that Israel "is violating Article 2 of its Association Agreement with the EU with regard to human rights." In his statement, released "following the statements demonizing Israel made this morning by the President of the Spanish Government on the eve of the EU leaders' meeting," the Chargé d'Affaires asserted that, following the Iranian bombings of Israel, "the Spanish Government chose not to condemn, not once, the deliberate and continuous attacks against Israeli civilians, thus launching an anti-Israeli crusade." “Instead, he has called for the suspension of European agreements with Israel and the imposition of an arms embargo on the country under attack! This is not only deeply regrettable, it is morally indefensible,” he continues. “We appreciate and value the clear support shown by our main European partners in these difficult days. The position adopted by the Spanish government places Spain at the most extreme and increasingly isolated margins of the European position on the Middle East. And it places it, regrettably, on the wrong side of history,” he adds. <h5><strong>Sánchez: "Gaza is experiencing open-air hell"</strong></h5> The European Council took note this Thursday of the report on Israel's compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and postponed any decision on the matter until at least the next European summit in July. In the press conference following the Council meeting, Sánchez stated that all European leaders expressed their "conviction" that "Iran must not have nuclear weapons," but "some, including myself, have said that war as the path to achieving this must not be tolerated and that the escalation must stop and diplomacy must return." Furthermore, he continued, it is necessary to put an end to the "open-air hell" in Gaza. “A year and a half ago, Spain and Ireland requested a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement for violating Article 2, and today, with more than 55,000 dead, including many children, many countries share that concern and the need” to end “the humanitarian catastrophe.” “The Israeli government has said that we have never condemned Hamas attacks, and that's not true. We have condemned them from day one. We have never demanded the release of the hostages, and that's not true. We did so from day one,” he denounced. “With the same determination, we must tell Benjamin Netanyahu's government that enough is enough,” he stated. “The report of the European Union's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights says that Israel could be violating Article 2 regarding human rights. I'm not saying that, the Special Rapporteur is,” Sánchez explained. "In the face of this report, European leaders cannot remain passive," and have therefore proposed returning to the issue at the Foreign Affairs Council in July. "I have advocated for the suspension of this agreement and for continuing to act diplomatically, because we have the mechanisms and levers of pressure to force the Israeli government to stop this catastrophe we are experiencing," he added.
