Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of making a “blatant genocidal threat.”

Spain summoned the Israeli charge d’affaires in Madrid on Friday in response to a recent statement issued by the office of the Israeli Prime Minister.

Dana Erlich, the top Israeli diplomat in the country currently, was summoned by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares to “categorically reject the false and slanderous statements from the Israeli prime minister’s office,” according to a statement from Spain’s foreign ministry cited by the Reuters news agency.

On Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of making a “genocidal threat” in comments earlier this week.

Prime Minister’s Office:

Spanish PM Sanchez said yesterday that Spain can’t stop Israel’s battle against Hamas terrorists because ‘Spain does not have nuclear weapons.’ That’s a blatant genocidal threat on the world’s only Jewish State.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 11, 2025

In a post on X, the office said, “Spanish PM Sanchez said yesterday that Spain can’t stop Israel’s battle against Hamas terrorists because ‘Spain does not have nuclear weapons.’ That’s a blatant genocidal threat on the world’s only Jewish State.”

The statement added, “Apparently, the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews of Spain and the systematic mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust, is not enough for Sanchez. Incredible.”

Madrid’s Measures

The post referenced comments Sanchez made on Monday, when he said: “Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves. We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive, but that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying.”

That day, Sanchez also announced nine measures aimed at stopping what he called genocide in Gaza, including barring extremist Israeli Cabinet ministers from Spain, imposing a permanent weapons embargo, and banning imports from the occupied Palestinian territories.

Spain Announces Nine-Point Sanctions on Israel over Gaza Genocide

Israel later accused Madrid of antisemitism and announced it would bar two Spanish Cabinet ministers from entering the country. Spain responded by recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv.

“Spain rejects any form of antisemitism, racism, xenophobia or intolerance,” the Spanish foreign ministry said, “and has welcomed 72,000 Sephardic Jews as fellow countrymen in recent years as a result of specific legislation for them.”

Support for ICJ

Stressing that Madrid had “immediately condemned” the October 7 Resistance operation, the foreign ministry said that with “the same determination, Spain calls for an immediate end to the endless violence in Gaza.”

Furthermore, “the constant attacks on the civilian population, the immediate entry of all humanitarian aid currently blocked by the Israeli Government and respect for the most basic human rights of the Palestinian population and international humanitarian law.”

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The statement noted that the Spanish government “will continue to support the work of the international courts to clarify what has been happening in Gaza since 2023, both in terms of the investigation by the International Criminal Court into crimes against humanity committed by several Israeli leaders and the proceedings before the International Court of Justice against the State of Israel under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

Ongoing Genocide

Since reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, Israel has continued its bloody aerial bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding thousands of Palestinians.

Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 64,700 Palestinians, with more than 163,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.

1 in 5 Children in Gaza City Diagnosed with Acute Malnutrition – UNICEF

In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.

Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

(PC, Anadolu, Agencies)