Israel expelled Spanish representatives from a multinational center coordinating the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, with officials in Jerusalem citing the “anti-Israel obsession” of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government in Madrid.
Israeli Foreign Minister Bideon Sa’ar announced on Friday that Spain won’t be allowed to participate in the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel’s Kiryat Gat. It marks the latest diplomatic clash between the countries whose relations have been strained since the start of the Gaza war.
“Sanchez and his government hurl false and defamatory accusations against Israel, and its army, [and] defame and incite against Israel and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Mr. Sa’ar said Friday on X. “The government of Spain has tried to harm us in international institutions, including repeated attempts — unsuccessful — to promote sanctions against us in the European Union.”
He accused Spain of working against the interests of Israel and the U.S.
“Spain’s obsessive anti-Israel bias under Sanchez’s leadership is so severe that it has lost all capacity to play a constructive role in implementing the peace plan of [President Donald Trump] and the center operating under the framework of this plan,” Mr. Sa’ar said.
“I informed our American allies in advance about this decision,” he added.
Mr. Sanchez has emerged as a leading critic of the U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran, plus Israel’s actions against Iran-backed Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. He said the European Union should suspend any agreements with Israel after Mr. Netanyahu ordered another round of attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
“His contempt for life and international law is intolerable,” Mr. Sanchez said this week on social media. “Just today, Netanyahu launched his harshest attacks against Lebanon since the offensive began.”
On Friday, Mr. Netanyahu accused Spain of slandering the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, which he called “the most moral army in the world.”
“Whoever attacks the State of Israel instead of the terrorist regimes … will not be our partners regarding the future of the region. I do not intend to allow any country to wage a political war against us without paying an immediate price for it,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
