(Aug. 31, 2026 \/ JNS)\n <\/p>\n
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday of \u201clying shamelessly\u201d about Israel\u2019s role in the Ceuta crisis, which broke out on July 30 when tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco flooded into the North African Spanish enclave. <\/p>\n
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez on Monday of \u201clying shamelessly\u201d after the Spanish leader alleged that social media accounts linked to Israel helped spread disinformation surrounding last month\u2019s mass migrant influx into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn an interview with Cadena SER today, he lied again, astonishingly accusing Israel of disseminating misleading information regarding the events in Ceuta,\u201d Sa\u2019ar wrote<\/a>. \u201cThis is a brazen lie. Continuing to spread defamatory lies will not distract from S\u00e1nchez\u2019s disgraceful failure to manage his country\u2019s affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez, speaking to host Aimar Bretos on Cadena SER\u2019s \u201cHoy por Hoy,\u201d said the causes of the crisis remain under investigation but blamed \u201crumors and disinformation\u201d spread through social media accounts \u201clinked both to Russia and to Israel, and to an international far-right\u201d movement that he said exploits migration to attack Spain and Europe.<\/p>\n The crisis erupted on July 30 and 31, when tens of thousands of migrants crossed or attempted to cross into Ceuta from neighboring Morocco. Spanish officials have put the number at roughly 70,000, with most subsequently returning to Morocco. About 5,000 migrants, including 1,200 minors, remained in Ceuta as of Monday, according to S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez said there is no evidence that Moroccan authorities were involved in the mass crossing and credited Rabat with cooperating with Madrid during the crisis. He attributed the surge in part to false claims circulating online after a Spanish Supreme Court ruling concerning the return of migrants who enter Ceuta by sea.<\/p>\n The episode has fueled conspiracy theories in Spain, including claims that Israel benefited from or helped engineer the crisis. Spanish actor Javier Bardem shared social-media posts alleging that Israel and Western far-right groups benefited from a weakened Spain.<\/p>\n The speculation intensified after Danny Danon, Israel\u2019s ambassador to the United Nations, criticized<\/a> Spain\u2019s handling of the crisis on July 30, writing that Madrid should explain why it maintains \u201ccolonial enclaves\u201d in Africa before continuing to lecture Israel. Spain\u2019s Transport Minister \u00d3scar Puente responded, \u201cWell, it\u2019s all starting to become quite clear,\u201d in an apparent reference to the suggestion of Israeli involvement.<\/p>\n