Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Wednesday that Spain will submit a draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly calling for “urgent measures to stop the killing of innocent civilians and ensure humanitarian aid” in Gaza.
Speaking before the Spanish parliament, Sánchez declared that “the international community cannot remain indifferent to what is happening” in Gaza. His remarks come amid Israel’s renewed military offensive against Hamas, which resumed in March after a two-month ceasefire.
Sánchez, a member of Spain’s Socialist Party, has emerged as one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
In a move that sparked diplomatic tensions, Spain recognized a Palestinian state last year—a step that broke with several of its European allies and drew condemnation from Israel. Spain has introduced a weapons embargo on Israel, and joined South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
The ongoing war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdering some 1,200 people and abducting another 251. In response, Israel launched a sustained military campaign in Gaza.
On Monday, Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said that Spain, which has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, was one of the “countries that enable antisemitism through their selective criticism of Israel and abuse of the language of human rights.” The allegation, which appeared in a report on antisemitism, was also levelled at Ireland and South Africa.
Last year, Yolanda Díaz, a deputy prime minister in Sanchez’s government, sealed a speech about the war between Hamas and Israel by saying, “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”
Referencing the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, the slogan is deemed antisemitic by many Jews and others because it envisages a scenario in which Israel does not exist as a Jewish state. Some critics view the slogan as a call for ethnic cleansing or genocide against Israel’s Jews.