Netanyahu removes Spain from Gaza coordination centre over ‘hostility’

Israel’s Netanyahu accused Spain of waging a ‘diplomatic war’ against Israel as relations with Madrid worsen.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Spain of waging a diplomatic war against Israel and barred Madrid from participating in a coordination centre to oversee the Gaza “ceasefire“.

In a video statement posted on X on Friday, Netanyahu said Israel would not “remain silent in the face of those who attack us”.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Rubio says NATO must be re-examined after Spain blocks US operation on Iran
• list 2 of 3Spain closes airspace to US warplanes involved in war on Iran
• list 3 of 3World reacts to ‘brutal’ Israeli attacks on Lebanon after US-Iran truce

“Spain has defamed our heroes, the soldiers of the IDF [Israeli army], the soldiers of the most moral army in the world. Therefore, I have instructed today to remove Spain’s representatives from the coordination centre in Kiryat Gat, after Spain has chosen repeatedly to stand against Israel,” he said.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also slammed Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and said his government had levelled “blood libels” at Israel and its army.

“Spain’s obsessive anti-Israel bias under Sanchez’s leadership is so egregious that it has lost all capability to serve a constructive role in implementing POTUS’s [President of the United States] peace plan and the center operating under it,” he wrote on X.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since Israel launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023. The following year, Spain recognised the state of Palestine, with Sanchez’s left-wing government speaking out against the mistreatment of Palestinians in the occupied territory.

Sanchez’s government also opposed the United States-Israel war on Iran that began on February 28, and closed Spanish airspace to US aircraft involved in the war.

The Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC), a US-led base that is part of Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war on Gaza, is responsible for monitoring the “ceasefire” and facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave.

The US established the CMCC in October as a hub for military personnel and diplomats from other countries to work alongside Israel and the US on security and humanitarian issues in Gaza.

Despite the “ceasefire”, Israel has continued near-daily attacks on Gaza, with limitations on vital aid deliveries still in place.