SHOTS FIRED

Israel Recalls Its Spanish Ambassador Amid Growing Feud

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had “serious doubts that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law” in its bombardment of Gaza.

The Israeli government recalled its ambassador in Madrid after the Spanish prime minister said he had “serious doubts that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law” in its bombardment of Gaza. Pedro Sánchez’s comments were made during an interview on Spain’s state broadcaster, TVE, on Thursday morning. While what Hamas had done to Israel was “atrocious and abominable,” he said, the footage coming out of Gaza coupled with “the growing numbers of children dying” gave rise to his concerns. The remarks threaten to deepen a diplomatic rift that opened last week when he made a speech along the border Gaza shares with Egypt, denouncing the “indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians” alongside Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen quickly summoned the ambassadors of both countries for what his office called a “harsh rebuke.” On Thursday, Cohen said that the Spanish ambassador to Tel Aviv would again be reprimanded over Sánchez’s “outrageous” and “baseless” claims.