Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the expulsion of the Spanish representatives from the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, after accusing Spain of “waging a diplomatic war” against Israel. According to the president, the decision responds to the continuous verbal attacks by Pedro Sánchez’s Executive against the Israeli State and its armed forces.
“Spain has chosen to stand against Israel”
In a message broadcast through his profile on X, Netanyahu assured that “the State of Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us.” In that speech, he reproached the Spanish Government for having “defamed our heroes, the soldiers of the IDF, the soldiers of the most moral army in the world.”
The Israeli head of the Executive explained that he ordered the expulsion of the Spanish members of the FCCC “after Spain has chosen time and again to position itself against Israel.” He also stressed that “whoever attacks the State of Israel instead of attacking the terrorist regimes will not be able to be our partner in the future of the region.”
Netanyahu warned that he does not intend to “tolerate hypocrisy or hostility” towards his country and promised that “whoever launches a diplomatic war against Israel will pay an immediate price.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry denounces “bias” against the country
The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed the expulsion of the Spanish personnel and accused Sánchez’s Executive of maintaining a “flagrant anti-Israeli bias.” Israel officially communicated the measure to Spain and, according to diplomatic sources, also informed the United States in advance.
The CMCC is the international organization created in November in the city of Kiryat Gat, in the south of the country, to coordinate the ceasefire and prepare the reconstruction tasks of the devastated Gaza Strip, within the plan promoted by Washington.
Increasingly tense relationships
The measure aggravates the political dispute between Israel and Spain, which has grown since the Hamas attacks of October 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive on Gaza. The Spanish Government has openly criticized the violence of the military operation, which according to Palestinian sources has caused more than 72,000 fatalities.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called the Israeli accusations “absurd and slanderous.” He also noted that Israel “intends to frustrate” contacts between the United States and Iran to try to contain the conflict, by maintaining bombings on Lebanese territory when the parties prepare to meet in Islamabad.
