Israel limits Spanish diplomatic services over Palestine recognition

TEL AVIV — Two days after Spain announced its intention to recognise an independent state of Palestine, Israel has imposed restrictions on the work of Spanish diplomats in the country.

The Spanish Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Spanish Consulate General in East Jerusalem will in future be prohibited from offering their services to Palestinians from West Bank, Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on the social media platform X on Friday.

Katz justified the measure by pointing to a statement by Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Diaz, which he categorised as anti-Semitic.

“In response to Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state and the anti-Semitic call by Spain’s deputy prime minister to not just recognise a Palestinian state but to ‘liberate Palestine from the river to the sea’, I have decided to sever the connection between Spain’s representation in Israel and the Palestinians,” he wrote.

In a speech shared on X, Diaz used the controversial slogan, “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”

It suggests that there should be a free Palestine in an area from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – which includes the area where Israel is located.

Diaz belongs to the left-wing electoral alliance Sumar, a junior coalition partner of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Spain, Ireland and Norway announced on Wednesday that they plan to recognise an independent Palestinian state at the end of May. Israel reacted with indignation to these announcements.