Dispute comes to a head

Katz accuses Spain of “incitement to murder”

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz

(Bild: APA/AF)

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz accuses Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of participating in incitement to murder the Jewish people and war crimes. Katz wrote on Tuesday: "(Iran's religious leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei, (Hamas leader Yahya) al-Sinwar and (Spanish Deputy Prime Minister) Yolanda Díaz call for the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian Islamist terrorist state from the river to the sea."

Addressing Sánchez, Katz wrote on X: "If you do not dismiss your deputy and declare the recognition of a Palestinian state - you are complicit in incitement to murder the Jewish people and commit war crimes."

Díaz posted controversial wording
In a video posted on X, politician Díaz said: "Palestine will be free from the river to the sea." The phrase means that there should be a free Palestine in an area from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea - where Israel is now located. The wording is controversial because it expresses the Palestinian claim to sovereignty and denies Israel's right to exist. From the Israeli point of view, it is a call for the expulsion or killing of Jews in the state of Israel.

Here you can seeDíaz's reaction to Katz's post on X:

Díaz responded to Katz on Twitter, "Our commitment to human rights will not end because of a threat." The only thing that mattered to her was a ceasefire, the prosecution of war crimes and an end to genocide. 

Spain sharply criticizes Israel's actions
Spain has long been one of the harshest critics in Europe of Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip. The left-wing government in Madrid had already suspended all arms exports to Israel shortly after the attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas and the start of military operations in Gaza. Last Wednesday, Spain, Norway and Ireland announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted indignantly and summoned the ambassadors of the three countries to the Foreign Ministry in protest.

The diplomatic conflict between Madrid and the government in Jerusalem came to a head on Friday when Israel announced restrictions on the work of Spanish diplomats in the country. Accordingly, the Spanish embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate general in East Jerusalem will in future be prohibited from offering their services to Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank.