The diplomatic crisis is a fact. Israel accused Pedro Sanchez of “supporting terrorism” in statements at the Rafah border crossing and summoned the Spanish ambassador for consultations. Now the government is also responding with another strong statement: Tel Aviv’s accusations are “completely false and unacceptable” and Spain will provide a “timely” response.

The executive’s response was provided by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez in an official statement recorded by EFE. And it came just three hours after his colleague, Israeli diplomatic chief Eli Cohen, criticized comments made by Sanchez and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo – both of whom appeared together – from Rafah. “I firmly believe that we must call on Israel to respect its obligations under international law,” said the head of the Spanish government, who is also acting president of the Council of the European Union. Some of the demonstrations supported by De Croux greatly disturbed Israel.

“We condemn the false statements of the heads of government of Spain and Belgium, who support terrorism, and after their words, their ambassadors will be invited to a tough conversation with a reprimand. Israel acts in accordance with international law and fights a terrorist-killer organization. [Hamás] worse than ISIS, which commits war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Cohen said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also “strongly” condemned the words of Sanchez and De Croo because “they did not hold Hamas fully responsible for the crimes.” the crimes against humanity he committed: the massacre of Israeli citizens and the use of Palestinians as human shields.

“The Israeli government’s accusations against the Prime Minister and Prime Minister of Belgium are completely false and unacceptable. We categorically reject them. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we are analyzing the timely response that we are going to give, and there will be a response to these false accusations, inappropriate and unacceptable,” Albarez authorized.

For the executive, the demonstrations in Tel Aviv are “particularly serious” because they concern the current EU president and the country that occupies him, Belgium, from January 1 next year. He recalled that since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and caused the death of 1,200 people, Sanchez himself, he himself and the entire executive branch “without hesitation” “condemned the terrorist attack” of the Gaza militia, “which does not represent the people.” Palestinian is simply a terrorist organization. The head of diplomacy insisted that the president also express this condemnation in Israel, in front of Netanyahu himself, just as he expressed his solidarity with “all Israeli victims,” as well as the two Spanish victims, Maya Villalobo and Ivan Illarramendi.

Spain, he added, had also demanded the “unconditional and immediate” release of all hostages held by Hamas – some 240 – and the president appeared stunned when he visited one of the kibbutzim victims of the terrorist attack this Thursday. . . And the government, he stressed, also supported Israel’s right to protection from Hamas.

“This does not contradict the message that we have been repeating since day one and which the government president also conveyed during his trip to Israel, to Palestine, to the Middle East. And this right to protection must be realized within the framework of strict compliance with international humanitarian law,” Albarez emphasized.