Spain’s socialist government, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, announced on Monday (8) a package of nine-point sanctions against Israel. The measures, which include the embargo of arms and the ban on the traffic of ships and aircraft bound for the country that fights the terrorist group Hamas in the Middle East were justified by Sánchez in response to what he called “genocide in Gaza”.
Sánchez mentioned the history of persecution suffered by the Jews, including the Holocaust, and reaffirmed that “Israel has the right to exist and prosper.” However, he accused the government of Benjamin Netanyahu of “overcoming the limits of self -defense.”
“We believe that one thing is to protect our country and our society and another is to bombard hospitals and kill hungry children,” said the socialist leader. Sánchez mentioned the data released by Hamas, where the terrorist group says the Israeli offensive has already left 63,000 dead, 159,000 injured, two million displaced and 250,000 people at risk of acute malnutrition at the enclave.
Among the measures announced by the Spanish government is the urgent approval of a decree-law that legally consolidates the embargo of arms to Israel, the prohibition of traffic of ships that transport fuels and ammunition to the Israeli armed forces and the restriction on the overfound of military material. The Spanish government also determined the prohibition of entry into the national territory of people accused of “participation in war crimes”, as well as consular restrictions on citizens living in illegal settlements by Spain.
Other measures include increased humanitarian aid to Gaza to 150 million euros, expanding the Spanish contribution to the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) and new cooperation projects with the Palestinian authority in the areas of agriculture, food safety and health.
“We hope that [essas medidas] Serve to increase pressure on the Israeli government and relieve the suffering of the Palestinian population, ”said Sánchez.
Israel’s reaction to Spain’s announcement was immediate. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Sánchez of trying to “distract attention” from corruption scandals that hit his government and announced diplomatic reprisals. Yolanda Díaz, socialist vice president of the Spanish government, and Sira Rego, Youth Minister, were prohibited from entering Israeli territory and had vetoed any official contact with the Netanyahu government. Saar said that Spain is following “an anti-Israel hostile line with unbridled and hateful rhetoric.”
