Netanyahu’s office accuses Spanish PM of ‘genocidal threat’ against Israel
Pedro Sánchez had said his country 'doesn't have nuclear bombs, aircraft carriers, or large oil reserves. We alone can't stop the Israeli offensive.'
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office has condemned what it described as a “genocidal threat” from the Spanish Prime Minister, after the Iberian leader said his country did not have significantly powerful resources – including “nuclear bombs” – and so “alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive.”
During an announcement of additional measures Spain would take against Israel, including a full arms embargo and a total ban on imports from Israeli settlements, Pedro Sánchez said that his country “doesn’t have nuclear bombs, aircraft carriers, or large oil reserves. We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive. But that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying. Because there are causes worth fighting for, even if winning them isn’t in our sole power.”
Responding to Sánchez’s comments, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said:
“Spanish PM Sánchez said yesterday that Spain can’t stop Israel’s battle against Hamas terrorists because ‘Spain does not have nuclear weapons.’ That’s a blatant genocidal threat on the world’s only Jewish State.
“Apparently, the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews of Spain and the systematic mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust, is not enough for Sanchez. Incredible.”
In the last six months, Sánchez has become Europe’s most vocally anti-Israel leader, continuously accusing Israel of “genocide”, calling for boycotts of Israel from international competition, and condemning the EU for not suspending its trade agreement with Israel. Simultaneously, Sánchez, who is the leader of a minority coalition, has been clinging to power despite an extended and wide-ranging corruption scandal, which has seen his own wife facing allegations of corruption and influence-peddling. The Spanish Prime Minister, leader of a traditionally centre-left party, is therefore almost completely reliant on his fiercely anti-Israel far-left coalition partners to remain as the country’s leader and ignore calls for his resignation.
On Monday, just prior to Sánchez’s announcement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused the Spanish government of “leading a hostile, anti-Israel line, marked by wild, hate-filled rhetoric”, and attempting to “divert attention from grave corruption scandals” with its anti-Israel actions and language. Spain has since banned two Israeli Ministers – Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, from entering the country, while Israel has itself banned two Spanish Ministers it accused of advancing antisemitic policies. The Spanish ambassador to Israel has been recalled to Madrid for “consultations”.
Last week anti-Israel protestors in Northern Spain repeatedly sought to interrupt the country’s Vuelta a España cycling race , while a Spanish chess competition sought to unilaterally ban Israeli competitors from playing under their country’s flag.
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