The Israeli government announced this Friday (24) that it will prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians in the West Bank.
In a publication on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated that the measure is a response to Spain’s announcement that, starting next week, it will recognize the Palestinian state (as well as Norway and Ireland).
The chancellor also mentioned a statement by Spain’s second vice-prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, who cited the motto “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea”, associated with the terrorist group Hamas, which uses the expression to preach the end of Israel.
“In response to Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state and the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister’s anti-Semitic call to not only recognize a Palestinian state but also to ‘liberate Palestine from the river to the sea’, I have decided to sever the link between the representation of Spain in Israel and the Palestinians, and prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians in the West Bank,” wrote Katz.
“If this ignorant and hateful person wants to understand what radical Islam is really after, he should study the 700 years of Islamic rule in Al-Andalus – present-day Spain,” he added, citing the period of Muslim rule between 711 and 1492 .
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced, in an interview with Spanish radio station RAC1 shortly after the Israeli Foreign Minister’s statement, that the Spanish government would analyze the meaning of the announcement. According to him, “if this is a decision, as it is literally read”, the Spanish government will protest.
In protest against the recognition of the Palestinian state, Israel had already recalled its ambassadors in Ireland, Norway and Spain to the country, in addition to having reprimanded the representatives of the three countries in Tel Aviv.
This Friday, Yolanda Díaz claimed that, when she said that “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea”, she meant that the two States, Israel and Palestine, must “share a future of peace and prosperity”.
“I am not an anti-Semite,” said Díaz, who insisted that he has always defended “the recognition of two states, sharing the economy, rights, peace and a prosperous future from the river to the sea.” (With EFE Agency)
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