A day after Israel banned two Spanish ministers from entering the country, Spain announced that it will prohibit Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionists).
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that his government does not fear an Israeli reprisal. “Regarding reprisal measures, the Spanish government fears nothing. These steps are not against Israel, but are rather for peace and human rights.”
On Monday, Albares ordered the Spanish ambassador to Israel to return for consultations after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called Spain’s policies against Israel “hostile and antisemitic.”
Sa’ar announced that Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz and Minister of Youth and Children Sira Rego would be banned from entering Israel.
Sa’ar made this decision after the two made a series of remarks that the Israeli Foreign Ministry said “led the Spanish government to deviate from a policy of diplomatic relations with Israel in favor of harsh condemnations of its policies.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also made fierce anti-Israel remarks on Monday during an address in which he announced an arms embargo on Israel. In his address, Sánchez accused Israel of “exterminating a defenseless people” by targeting hospitals and “killing innocent boys and girls with hunger.”
Foreign Minister Sa’ar rejected the accusations outright, stating: “The Government of Spain is leading a hostile anti-Israeli line, with wild rhetoric dripping with hatred. The attempt by the corrupt Sánchez administration to divert attention from severe corruption scandals through a continuous anti-Israel and anti-Semitic attack is transparent.”