The strained relationship between Israel and Spain hit a new low: At the direction of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Spain’s chargé d’affaires in Israel, Francisca Pedros, was summoned Monday for a sharp rebuke at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. The meeting was conducted by Gilad Cohen, head of the ministry’s strategic-political division, following remarks by Spain’s Youth and Children’s Minister Sira Rego, who declared that the Spanish public supports establishing a ‘Palestinian’ state “from the river to the sea.”
Jerusalem made clear it views this as a slogan whose practical meaning is the erasure of the State of Israel, and argued the move is no accident but part of a systematic anti-Israel policy led by Spain’s far-left government and its head, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
This isn’t the first time Minister Rego has sparked a sharp confrontation with Israel. On September 8, 2025, Minister Sa’ar announced a sweeping entry ban to Israel against her and against Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz. The Israeli move came in response to a package of measures implemented by Sánchez, and drew condemnation from Madrid, which called the ban “unacceptable.”
The Foreign Ministry emphasized today that Rego’s current remarks represent the current leftist government line in Madrid: “The words of the youth minister, who in the past chose not to condemn the October 7 massacre and in September 2025 was even banned from entering Israel, reflect the direction of the current radical left government in Spain: support for a vision that means the elimination of the State of Israel.”
The current tension rests on a series of sanctions and practical measures advanced by the Sánchez government in September 2025 around the war in Gaza. At the center of these moves was enshrining in law an arms embargo on Israel, which Madrid claims has been implemented in practice since October 2023. Alongside this, restrictions were imposed on passage through Spanish ports for ships carrying fuel for use by Israel’s armed forces, as well as a ban on entry to Spanish airspace for aircraft carrying security equipment for Israel.
Later that month, a government order was approved that enshrined a ban on buying and selling security equipment and dual-use technologies with Israel, and expanded restrictions on military fuel transit by air and sea. Spain also advanced a ban on importing products from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, restricted consular services to Spanish citizens living in them, expanded economic support to the ‘Palestinian’ Authority, and announced an additional €10 million for UNRWA and a target of €150 million in aid to Gaza during 2026.
The current crisis is the peak of sustained political distancing between Jerusalem and Madrid. Spain has positioned itself as one of Israel’s sharpest critics in Europe, particularly after it officially recognized a ‘Palestinian’ state in May 2024 and worked in the international arena to increase political pressure on Israel. The September 2025 decisions moved the confrontation from the declarative level to actual economic and security actions, and led to Spain’s ambassador to Israel being recalled for consultations after the entry ban on Ministers Rego and Díaz.