Spain to summon Israeli diplomat over “antisemite” slur against PM Sánchez

Spain’s Foreign Ministry has announced it will summon the Israeli charge d’affaires on Septyember 16 to formally protest against inflammatory remarks made by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar regarding Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The diplomatic move follows a post published by Saar on social media platform X on September 15, in which he described Prime Minister Sánchez as “an antisemite and a liar.” The accusation came after Sánchez expressed support for large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Madrid, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the final stage of the La Vuelta cycling race, Al Arabiya reports.

In a formal statement issued in the morning of September 16, the Spanish Foreign Ministry declared:

“This morning, the Foreign Ministry will summon the charge d’affaires of the Israeli Embassy in Spain to protest the unacceptable words and positions of the Israeli Foreign Minister regarding Spain and the Prime Minister.”

This will mark the second time in less than a week that Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has summoned the Israeli envoy to address controversial statements made by members of the Israeli government.

By Vafa Guliyeva