The Israeli government has recalled its ambassador to Madrid and said it will reprimand Spain’s top diplomat in Tel Aviv after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had ‘real doubts’ about whether Israel was complying with international humanitarian law in its offensive in Gaza.
Sánchez’s latest comments came a week after he sparked a diplomatic row by using a visit to Israel to urge it to reconsider its operations in Gaza, claiming that its response to Hamas’ atrocities on 7 October “cannot mean the death of innocent civilians, including thousands of children”.
Speaking to Spanish state broadcaster TVE on Thursday morning, Sánchez repeated his condemnation of Hamas’s attacks, but said “friendly countries really need to be able to say things to each other”.
“We have said from the beginning that what Hamas has done in Israel is absolutely atrocious and abhorrent,” he said, adding that he had seen 20 minutes of “very hard” footage of the attacks during last week’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We have also always publicly stated that Hamas must release all the hostages it is holding immediately and without any conditions,” Sánchez said.
“But we must say to Israel, with the same conviction, that its actions must be based on international humanitarian law. But with the images we’re seeing and the increasing number of people – especially boys and girls – being killed, I have real doubts that they are complying with international humanitarian law.
The Spanish leader said a political solution to the crisis required “recognition of the Palestinian state”, adding: “It is in Europe’s interest to address this issue out of moral conviction, because what we are seeing in Gaza is unacceptable.”
Spain has already indicated that it might be prepared to recognise a Palestinian state unilaterally if other EU members fail to do so collectively.
His words drew an angry response from the Israeli government. Netanyahu said he had instructed his foreign minister, Eli Cohen, to summon the Spanish ambassador for a reprimand ‘following the shameful statement by the Spanish prime minister’. He also noted that the comments came on a day when Hamas gunmen murdered three people and wounded 13 others in East Jerusalem.
Cohen said Sánchez’s “outrageous words” had prompted him to call the Israeli ambassador in Madrid for consultations.
He added: “Israel is acting and will continue to act according to international law, and we will continue the war until all the kidnapped are released and Hamas is removed from Gaza.”
During a joint visit to the region last week with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Sánchez said the number of Palestinian deaths was “truly unbearable” and reiterated that the creation of a Palestinian state remained the best way to bring peace and security to the region. De Croo said Israel’s military operation must respect international humanitarian law, adding: “The killing of civilians must stop.”
The pair’s comments prompted the Israeli foreign ministry to accuse them of “supporting terrorism” and to recall the ambassadors of both countries.
Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, described the Israeli government’s comments as ‘false, inappropriate and unacceptable’.
Sánchez also rejected the criticism, saying: “Condemning the despicable terrorist attacks of a terrorist group like Hamas and at the same time condemning the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians in Gaza is not a question of political parties or ideology, it is a question of being humane.”
Relations between Spain and Israel have been strained in recent weeks after some far-left members of Sánchez’s previous cabinet criticised Israel’s response to the terrorist atrocities, suggesting it was committing war crimes in Gaza and calling for Netanyahu to be brought before the International Criminal Court.
Israel’s embassy in Madrid called the remarks ‘deeply immoral’ and accused some Spanish MPs of siding with ‘Isis-style terrorism’.
Spain responded with a strongly worded statement of its own, accusing the Israeli embassy of “spreading falsehoods” about some cabinet members.
“In a full democracy such as Spain, any political leader can freely express his positions as a representative of a political party,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.
“In any case, the Spanish government’s position on the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas is clear: unequivocal condemnation; demands for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages and recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself within the limits set by international law and international humanitarian law.”
At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage when Hamas fighters crossed the border from Gaza on 7 October, according to Israeli figures. According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, some 15,000 people, 40% of them children, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes.