Spain sanctions far-right Israeli ministers in response to Gaza genocide
Iran Press TV
Tuesday, 09 September 2025 3:11 PM
Spain has sanctioned two Israeli far-right ministers, barring them from entering its territory, a move that underscores Madrid's condemnation of Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir "will not be able to enter Spanish territory," Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told a press conference on Tuesday.
Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are already sanctioned by several Western countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, and the Netherlands, for "incitement of violence" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The decision comes a day after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared nine measure,s which he said aimed at preventing Israel's genocide in Gaza.
The measures included an entry ban on "all those people participating directly in the genocide, the violation of human rights and war crimes in the Gaza Strip."
Sanchez said Spain will ban planes and ships carrying weapons or transporting fuel for Israel from entering Spanish airspace or docking at Spanish ports.
Madrid will also boost aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) by €10 million, and commit €150 million in additional humanitarian aid for Gaza in 2026.
Additional measures include an embargo on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
"What [the Israeli regime] is doing is not defending itself, it is exterminating a defenseless population," Sanchez declared.
Monday's announcement provoked a furious response from Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, who accused the Spanish government of "antisemitism" and said the regime would bar Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz and Youth Minister Sira Rego from entering the occupied Palestinian territories.
Spain rejected the accusations as "false and slanderous", recalling its ambassador, Ana Maria Salomon, from Tel Aviv and saying that there was "no scheduled return date" for her.
Relations between Spain and the Israeli regime were already tense, as Madrid has emerged as one of Europe's strongest critics of the Gaza genocide.
Last week, Sanchez condemned Europe's double standards regarding Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling the international response to the genocide "a failure."
He described the reaction to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza as "one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century."
Spain's stance marks a broader policy shift in recent years, deepening after Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza began on October 7, 2023.
In May 2025, Madrid urged the international community to impose sanctions and embargoes against Israel to halt the Gaza genocide, which has claimed more than 64,500 Palestinian lives.
In May 2024, Spain, alongside Ireland and Norway, formally recognized the State of Palestine. Sanchez described the move as both a moral duty and a commitment to peace, justice, and international law.
Spain has also pressed the European Union (EU) to reconsider the EU-Israel Association Agreement, arguing that Israel's actions in Gaza breach the accord's human rights clause.
Since November 2023, Spain has suspended arms export licenses to Israel, citing concerns that such sales could contribute to violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
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