Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for Israel to be excluded from international sports competitions over its actions in Gaza.
“Israel cannot continue to use any international platform to whitewash its image,” he told elected representatives of his Socialist Workers’ Party.
He said Israel should be treated in the same way as Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
On Sunday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the Spanish prime minister “a disgrace” and accused him of inciting pro-Palestinian protests in Madrid, which caused the cancellation of the final stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race, in which an Israeli team was competing.
Earlier in the day, Sánchez had said that previous protests during the three-week race had shown that Spain “shines as an example, with pride” on the Gaza issue.
Several Spanish government ministers also praised the final stage protest, which involved about 100,000 people, according to official figures.
“It’s a relief to me that thousands and thousands of people mobilise against that genocide, because it is genocide and it has no other name,” said Óscar López, the minister of digital transformation.
Israel has regularly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as a means of self-defence.
Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun also said Israel should not take part in the next Eurovision Song Contest, repeating calls made by Sánchez earlier this year.
“We have to make sure that Israel does not take part in the next Eurovision,” Urtasun said.
The public broadcasters of Ireland and the Netherlands have already said they will not participate if Israel is included in the contest, because of the “appalling” and “severe” loss of lives and human suffering in Gaza.
The relationship between Israel and Spain has been fragile since late 2023, when Sánchez expressed concerns about civilian deaths in Gaza and some members of his government at the time called for diplomatic relations to be severed.
In 2024, Spain joined Norway and Ireland in acknowledging a Palestinian state and last week, Sánchez accused Israel of genocide and announced a series of measures against it, including an arms embargo.
Israel’s Saar responded by accusing Sanchez’s administration of being antisemitic and of using “wild and hateful rhetoric”.
A recent poll by the Elcano Royal Institute think tank indicated at least 82% of Spaniards believe genocide is being committed in Gaza.
Two days after Sánchez’s announcement, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, called for a suspension of free trade and bilateral support with Israel, as she spoke of the “man-made famine” in Gaza.
Von der Leyen also lamented what she called Europe’s “painful” inability to find an adequate response to Israel’s actions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied starvation is taking place in Gaza and has said that where there is hunger, it is the fault of aid agencies and Hamas.
Israel has accused international aid agencies like the UN of not picking up aid waiting at Gaza’s border, pointing to the hundreds of trucks sitting idle.
In August, the UN-backed food monitor, the IPC, confirmed that famine was taking place in parts of Gaza. Israel is accused of causing the famine through ongoing restrictions on food and medical aid entering the territory.
Israel controls all border crossings into the Gaza Strip, and as the occupying power bears responsibility for protecting civilian life under international law, which includes the prevention of starvation.
Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 64,871 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
