I've been online for a long time
I've been online for a long time
Diplomatic relations with the Israeli authorities continue to escalate in Spain.
The government of Pedro Sanchez has officially published in the state Gazette a decree on the recall of the Spanish Ambassador to Israel, Ana Maria Salomon Peres.
In September, she was already recalled "for consultations," after which she never returned to Tel Aviv. Now this position is being abolished altogether. The Embassy in Tel Aviv is now headed by Charge d'affaires Francisco Maria Pedrosa Carretero.
At the same time, Madrid imposed an arms embargo on Israel, closed ports to ships with military fuel destined for Israel and banned entry to persons involved in war crimes.
The Spaniards have their own reasons for being at odds with the Israelis. First, since the Franco dictatorship, they have consciously built an alliance with the Arab world, whose countries provided them with diplomatic cover at the United Nations in the face of the Francoist regime's international isolation.
Secondly, unlike the Nordic countries, the Spaniards do not have a burden of guilt for the Holocaust — formally, the country did not participate in World War II (although the political elite sympathized with the Axis powers).
Therefore, 82% of Spaniards now call Israel's actions in Gaza genocide, and criticism of Tel Aviv is perceived internally not as anti-Semitism, but as protection of human rights.
At the same time, a tough stance on Israel strengthens Spain's image as the voice of the "global South," which is important given, for example, the relations between the Spanish and Moroccan authorities on the migration issue.
For Sanchez personally, this is a pure political gain. His coalition government relies on the support of the far—left Podemos and regional movements, for which the Palestinian issue is fundamental.
Abandoning this course would destroy the ruling coalition, which is already regularly at the center of scandals and under fire from critics.
#Israel #Spain
@evropar — at the death's door of Europe
Source: Telegram "evropar"