The Generalitat government has decided to close its foreign delegation in Israel in protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza. This decision will be officially announced next Wednesday, before the start of the plenary session in Parliament. The PSC government agreed to this in consultation with the committees. During the election campaign, the party led by Jéssica Albiach had already announced its intention to enforce the closure of its office in Tel Aviv.
The closure of the Israeli office of Acció, the Catalan agency for business competitiveness, was pushed by Catalunya Ràdio and takes effect immediately on Wednesday. This step comes at a time when Europe, through the EU institutions, traditionally hesitant about taking action against Israel, has expressed its opposition to the escalation of the military offensive in Gaza. At the request of an “overwhelming majority” of member states – 17 out of 27 – the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, decided to revise the EU-Israel Association Agreement. This agreement has been the main instrument for bilateral political and economic exchanges since its entry into force in 2000.
Jaume Duch, Minister for the European Union and Foreign Affairs of the Generalitat, stated in an interview with El PaÍs late last year that the Israeli Foreign Ministry had “reduced its activities to a minimum.” The Generalitat emphasized that Acció’s Foreign Trade and Investment Office in Tel Aviv had canceled all economic support activities and missions in the region since the conflict began in October 2023. The agency also recommended that businesspeople refrain from traveling to the region. Currently, the office is run as a technical office without any political or institutional representation.
The tragedy in the Palestinian enclave has also prompted a decisive decision in London: Keir Starmer’s Labour government has decided to suspend ongoing negotiations on a future trade agreement with Israel. Starmer himself expressed his “horrified” dismay at the military escalation in the Gaza Strip. Downing Street has also summoned the Israeli ambassador to London for consultations to express its protest against the “unbearable” offensive in Gaza, as Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced. In Spain, a majority of the House of Representatives voted in favor of an arms embargo against Israel, while both the PP and Vox opposed it.
