Madrid 'strongly rejects' Israel's accusation of antisemitism against Spain

The Spanish government on Monday said it "strongly rejects the false and slanderous accusations of anti-Semitism" made by the Israeli government against Spain and the Spanish people.

"The Spanish Government strongly rejects the false and slanderous accusations of anti-Semitism made by the Israeli Government against Spain and the Spanish people," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

It also criticized the ban on two members of the Spanish government from entering Israel as “unacceptable.”

Israel imposed entry bans and personal sanctions on two Spanish officials, Yolanda Diaz, deputy premier and Sira Rago, minister for Youth and Children, on early Monday over their strong criticism of Israeli practices in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

Citing Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's announcement early Monday about nine new measures against Israel, the ministry statement said that it reflects the majority opinion of Spanish society and are adopted within the framework of its sovereignty and in line with its defense of peace, human rights and international law.

In his televised address, Sanchez said that although Spain has de facto been applying an export ban on weapons to Israel since 2023, the government will now urgently legislate a "permanent" ban.

Madrid will also prohibit ships transporting fuel to Israeli forces from using Spanish ports. Aircraft carrying defense material will be banned from Spanish airspace.

Other measures include banning imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, limiting Spanish consular services to Spanish citizens living in the occupied territories to the bare minimum, and increasing Spain’s presence in Rafah with additional troops and new joint projects with the Palestinian Authority to provide food and medicine.

Refuting Israeli claims, the statement noted that the Spanish government is committed to combating antisemitism and racism and to a country in which there is no place for discrimination of any kind.

Expressing its support for a two-state solution, the Spanish government said it demands that Israel end its occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, end the violence unleashed against the Palestinian civilian population and end the humanitarian blockade of the Strip.

"The Spanish Government will not be intimidated in its defence of peace, international law and human rights," added the statement.

Israel has killed more than 64,500 Palestinians in a brutal offensive in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Alyssa McMurtry in Oviedo, Spain, contributed to this report