Israel has called a reprimand meeting with Spanish Ambassador Ana Salomón Pérez for this Thursday in response to the “harsh statements” made by Spanish President Pedro Sánchez. On Wednesday, Sánchez declared in Congress that his government was not “acting with a genocidal state,” in response to allegations made by Esquerra Republicana spokesman Gabriel Rufián, who accused the government of cooperating “with a genocidal state like Israel.”
A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said: “Following the harsh statements made by Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish Ambassador to Israel has been summoned to a reprimand meeting tomorrow at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.”
Sánchez’s remarks were in response to the controversy sparked by Israel’s purchase of weapons during the offensive in the Gaza Strip. “I point out to you, Mr. Rufián. We do not trade with a genocidal state. We do not, Your Honor. I recently explained from this podium exactly what we were talking about when we discussed some things that are not true,” Sánchez emphasized.
On April 24, Sánchez announced the cancellation of a contract to purchase missiles from an Israeli company in order to secure the coalition with his left-wing government partner, Sumar. This contract involved the acquisition of 15 million missiles for the Spanish Guardia Civil at a cost of €6.6 million.
Following the announcement of the contract termination, Israel condemned the Spanish government’s decision “in the strongest terms” and considered it “sacrificing security considerations for political reasons.” According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, with its decision the Spanish government continued “the wrong side of history” and positioned itself “against the Jewish state, which is defending itself against terrorist attacks on seven fronts”.
