Spanish Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz’s recent comments on a Palestinian state have made an even greater rift between her country and Israel.
Diaz made a statement Friday celebrating Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state along with Ireland and Norway. She called for the rest of the European Union “to break all agreements and funds it has with Israel, to support investigations into war crimes, to end the sale and purchase of arms.”
“Today we celebrate that Spain recognizes the Palestinian state. But we are not going to stop there. We will keep pushing from our responsibility as a government to defend human rights and put an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people,” Diaz said. “We are living in a moment of human history in which to do the minimum is at once heroic and insufficient. That’s why we can’t stop here. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”
Vice President of Spain, Yolanda Diaz:
Today, we welcome the fact that Spain recognizes the State of Palestine, but we cannot stop there.
Palestine will be free from the river to the sea. pic.twitter.com/YqO97Hsc6V
— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) May 24, 2024
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz acted nearly immediately to prohibit the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians on Friday. Katz cited his reason came from Diaz’s statement.
“If this ignorant, hate-filled individual wants to understand what radical Islam truly seeks, she should study the 700 years of Islamic rule in Al Andalus — today’s Spain,” Katz wrote on X.
In response to Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state and the antisemitic call by Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister to not just recognize a Palestinian state but to ‘liberate Palestine from the river to the sea,’ I have decided to sever the connection between Spain’s…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 24, 2024
As a result, Israeli Ambassador to Spain Rodica Radian-Gordon announced she would be leaving the country.
“I regret that I will have to return to Israel due to the decisions made by the Spanish government, that won’t contribute to establishing peace and security in the Middle East, nor will they help free the 128 hostages still in the hands of Hamas,” Radian-Gordon wrote.
Lamento tener que regresar a Israel por unas decisiones vanas adoptadas por el gobierno español, que no van a contribuir a la paz y la seguridad en oriente medio, ni van a facilitar la liberación de nuestros 128 secuestrados aún en manos de Hamás.
Muchas gracias a todos los…— Embajadora de Israel 🇮🇱 (@Isr_Amb_Esp) May 23, 2024
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While President Joe Biden has also called for a two-state solution, as Spain did not make the announcement with Israeli support, the White House has remained opposed to the move. Biden continues to work for direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel for a solution.
Israel has been against a two-state solution since the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7. Some 1,200 people were killed, and about 250 people were initially taken hostage. A deal between the two parties is viewed by most Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as a reward for the terrorist act.