Margarita Robles calls Israeli attack in Gaza “authentic genocide” | Spain

The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, said this Saturday that “what is happening in Gaza” is an “authentic genocide”, a term that until now had not been uttered by the Socialist members of the government, although members of Sumar had said it. Robles’ words come amid a diplomatic crisis with Israel, which summoned its ambassador to Spain for consultations after Pedro Sánchez announced that on May 28 the Council of Ministers would approve the recognition of the Palestinian State. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the military offensive launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip – a territory controlled by Hamas – in retaliation for a Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 – has already killed more than 35,000 people. UNICEF, the United Nations agency that works to protect children’s rights, estimates that almost half of those killed were children.

Robles spoke about the conflict during an interview on TVE on the occasion of the celebration in Oviedo of the central event of Armed Forces Day. “Spain is always very supportive of what happens in the world. We cannot forget that people are dying in Ukraine, it is a tremendous war, nor can we ignore what is happening in Gaza, which is a true genocide,” he said. And he added: “The recognition of the Palestinian state is a commitment to peace, a commitment to the coexistence of two states. And I think we have to see it positively. It is not against the State of Israel, it is not against Israelis, they are people we respect. “It is an attempt to end the violence in Gaza.”

The minister said he does not fear that Israel will stop its cooperation with Spain in the fight against terrorism due to the Pedro Sánchez government’s position on Palestine. “We all have the same objective, which is the fight against terrorism. One issue is the diplomatic or political aspect. But in terms of the fight against terrorism, in which we are all involved, I am sure we will all continue to work,” he replied.

Until now, the Socialist wing of the government avoided using the term “genocide” to refer to Israel’s military assault on Gaza. For example, in an interview in La Sexta last week, the president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, described Israel’s offensive as an “inhumane response”. “Would you describe what is happening in Gaza as genocide?” the presenter asked him directly. “I have my own particular vision,” the chief executive replied. “Does it match that term?” “Let’s see… are human rights being respected in Gaza? I have my serious doubts. In any case, the one who has to clarify this is the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. Obviously, I have serious doubts, like any objective analyst, seeing what is happening in Gaza: the indiscriminate death of civilians, women, boys, girls… the unparalleled destruction of Gaza, which is going to cause a situation of reconstruction that will take decades,” the PSOE leader demurred.

Tensions between Spain and Israel have been growing as the weeks go by. And it has multiplied, especially after Sánchez announced his imminent recognition of the Palestinian state. As a result, Israel recalled its ambassador to Spain, Rodica Redion-Gordon, for consultations and summoned the Spanish ambassador in Tel Aviv, Ana María Salomón, to issue a reprimand. Then, the mishap went up another notch. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced the decision to “ban the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians” in the West Bank. He did so after Vice President Yolanda Díaz used the phrase “from the river to the sea” in a video supporting Palestine. These words refer to the “controversial and subject to different interpretations” slogan that refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, between which today lie the State of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories: Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.