This Monday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry ordered the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem stop providing consular services from June 1 to Palestinians “residents under the Palestinian Authority”, that is, in the occupied West Bank, representing the recognition of the Palestinian State.
In a diplomatic note sent to the Embassy, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, formalizes this ban that he already announced on Friday as punishment for Spain’s recognition of the Palestinian State, which will become official tomorrow, and the statements of the vice president. . Yolanda Díaz, who closed a speech with the pro-Palestinian slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which Israel considers anti-Semitic.
“We are in the year 2024, the days of the Inquisition are over. Today we Jews have a sovereign and independent State and no one will force us to convert our religion or threaten our existence. Whoever harms us, we will harm,” said Katz. . in a statement in which he formally announces the first “punitive measures against Spain.”
According to them, Israel prohibits the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem from “carrying out consular activities or providing consular services to residents under the Palestinian Authority,” although it clarified that the measure does not apply to people with Spanish nationality.
Spain has its embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv, but has maintained a Consulate in Jerusalem since before 1948, which for decades has functioned as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians and maintains diplomatic relations with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
(Also: Palestinian Prime Minister asks other EU countries to follow Spain’s ‘brave decision’)
This ban must come into force from June 1, 2024, and if not, the ministry “will take additional measures.”
“Today I have applied preliminary punitive measures against the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem, which decided after the recognition by the Spanish government of a ‘Palestinian State’ as a gift to the Hamas murderers and the serious anti-Semitic incitement of its leaders against the existence of the State of Israel,” said Minister Katz.
Katz published a video yesterday on his X account with topical images of Spain, in which two actors parody flamenco dancing, interspersed with images of the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7; accompanied by the message “Hamas appreciates your services” mentioning President Pedro Sánchez.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain yesterday called this montage “scandalous” and “execrable”, in a joint press conference in Brussels with the Prime Minister of the ANP, Mohamad Mustafa.
Spain announced last Tuesday, together with Ireland and Norway, the recognition of the Palestinian State, which they will formalize tomorrow, which provoked the anger of Israel, which immediately called its ambassadors in those three countries for consultations, and called for a “reprimand.” to their diplomatic representatives.
“We must tell the Palestinians that we are with them, that there is hope” and that “the land and identity of Palestine will continue to exist in our hearts and in international legality,” Sánchez asserted on the day of the announcement.
More than 140 countries recognize the Palestinian State, eight of them European – Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Cyprus and Sweden – as well as almost all Arab countries or those historically linked to the non-aligned movement.
Furthermore, Palestine is a member of full right of the Arab League, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation or UNESCO; while at the UN it is an observer state, although the General Assembly voted this month in favor of improving its status.
EFE
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