Pedro Sánchez has angered the Israeli government. The government of Israel has summoned Spain's Israeli ambassador for consultations after the statements made by the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, from Israel. This Friday, on a visit to the Middle East, Sánchez opened the door for Spain to unilaterally recognize the state of Palestine if there is no agreement in the international community. This is what he highlighted this Friday afternoon from the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza strip, in Egyptian territory, during a joint appearance with the Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, and in his role as holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. In response to these statements, which Israel did not like and which the Israeli foreign ministry called "false" affirmations, since they consider that they "give support to the terrorism" of Hamas, the Israeli government has summoned for consultations the ambassadors of both Spain and Belgium.
Specifically, the Israeli foreign minister, Eli Cohen, condemned the "false claims" made by Sánchez and De Croo and asserted that they are "giving support to terrorism". "Following their words, their ambassadors will be called to a harsh rebuke," he added. "Israel is acting in accordance with international law and fighting a murderous terrorist organization worse than the Islamic State which commits war crimes and crimes against humanity," the minister said in a message in which he also stressed that Israel will resume "its combat after the cease-fire until the elimination of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the release of all those abducted."
"I firmly believe that we must call on Israel to comply with its obligations under international law," Sánchez said today at a press conference alongside De Croo in Rafah, hours before Hamas released the first hostages, specifically 25 people, as the ceasefire negotiated with Israel came into force. Sánchez expressed his hope that this pause in the conflict will be the "prelude to a permanent solution to level the ground" so as to be able to solve the conflict between Israel and Palestine "permanently".
Likewise, he affirmed that "the time has come for the international community and the European Union to recognize the State of Palestine once and for all. It is something that is worthwhile, that is sufficiently important and that the EU needs to do collectively. But if this is not the case, Spain will make its own decisions," he added. For his part, De Croo, who, like Sánchez, has asked Hamas to release all the hostages, declared that "political leaders must go beyond their own shadows and make decisions, even if they are difficult."
Barcelona's Jewish community criticises Collboni after breaking of relations
Meanwhile, this Friday's institutional declaration by the Barcelona city council interrupting institutional relations with the current government of Israel has caused criticism to rain down on the mayor, Jaume Collboni. The most serious, due to its official nature, from the Israeli embassy, but the most hurtful, that of the Jewish community of Barcelona. Both have been critical of the municipal government's support for a proposal from Barcelona en Comú that the governing Socialists negotiated, and ERC also voted for, which was firmly critical of the Israeli government but which, however, does not interfere with the twinning relationship with Tel- Aviv.
The municipal government voted for an interruption to "institutional relations with the current government of Israel", led by Benjamin Netanyahu, "until there is a definitive cease-fire and respect for the basic rights of the Palestinian people and compliance with United Nations resolutions are guaranteed regarding the conflict". The Comunitat Israelita de Barcelona (CIB) issued a harsh statement in which it states that the resolution approved this Friday "goes against the Jews and Israel, and does not help solve anything."