The move comes after Madrid accused Israel of breaching a ceasefire with “indiscriminate bombings” in Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. © Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at Spain over what he
described as repeated opposition to Israel and the “defaming” of the military after Madrid slammed the IDF over the recent strikes in Lebanon.
In
a video address on Friday, Netanyahu said he ordered Spain’s expulsion
from the US-backed coordination center in Kiryat Gat that oversees the
Gaza ceasefire, calling it punishment for opposing Israel.
“Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us. Spain has defamed our heroes, IDF soldiers – the soldiers of the most moral army in the world,” Netanyahu said. “Spain has chosen repeatedly to stand against Israel… I do not intend to allow any country to wage a diplomatic war against us without paying an immediate price.”
Spanish
officials, including Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, have been among the
most vocal critics of the US-Israeli war against Iran, warning that
further escalation would bring severe humanitarian and economic
consequences. Last month, Spain closed its airspace to US aircraft
linked to the war and permanently withdrew its ambassador from Israel,
downgrading ties.
Spain has also condemned the Israeli strikes on Lebanon on April 8 –
just hours after a two-week US-Iran ceasefire was announced – accusing
the IDF of violating international law and breaching the truce.
The
strikes – called ‘Operation Eternal Darkness’ – lasted ten minutes, but
are considered the most intense aerial assault since the broader
US-Israel war against Iran began on February 28. The IDF said it hit
around 100 Hezbollah targets and killed over 180 militants. The Lebanese
authorities said at least 357 people, mostly civilians, were killed and
more than 1,223 were wounded.
Following the strikes, Sanchez slammed Netanyahu’s “contempt for life and international law,” calling it “intolerable”
and urging Brussels to suspend the EU association agreement with
Israel. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares echoed the criticism,
calling the strikes a “shame for the conscience of humanity” and accusing the IDF of “indiscriminate bombings” targeting civilians under the guise of fighting Hezbollah.
Further angering Israel, Albares announced on Thursday the reopening
of the Spanish Embassy in Tehran and the return of its ambassador – a
move he said is aimed at helping to de-escalate the war and support the
peace talks in Pakistan.
Senior Iranian and US negotiatorsare in Islamabad for what Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called a “make-or-break moment” to turn the fragile ceasefire into a broader deal.
Iranian
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, leading Tehran’s
delegation, said he arrived with goodwill tempered by deep mistrust,
noting that the US attacked Iran “twice within less than a year”
during negotiations. US Vice President J.D. Vance, leading the American
team, said he expects productive talks but warned Iran not to “play” the US.