The Spanish Prime Minister urges Israel to be banned from international sport

Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on Israel to be expelled from international sports competitions for his actions in Gaza.

“Israel cannot continue to use any international platform to defeat its image,” he told elected representatives of the party of his socialist workers.

He said Israel should be treated in the same way as Russia because of its full -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the Spanish Prime Minister a “shame” and accused him of inciting propalist protests in Madrid, causing the final stage of the cycling race of Vuelta, which competed by Israel’s team.

Earlier in the day, Sanchez had said that previous protests during the three-week race showed that Spain “shines as an example with pride” on the issue of gas.

Several Spanish government ministers have also praised the protest at the last stage, involving about 100,000, according to official figures.

“It is a relief for me that thousands and thousands of people are mobilizing against this genocide because it is a genocide and has no other name,” says Oscar Lopez, minister of digital transformation.

Israel regularly denies that his actions in Gaza are a genocide and says that they are justified as a means of self -defense.

The Minister of Culture Ernest Urtas also said Israel should not participate in the next Eurovision Song Contest, Repeated calls made by Sanchez earlier this yearS

“We have to make sure that Israel is not involved in the next Eurovision,” said Urtasun.

Public television operators of Ireland and the Netherlands have already stated that they will not participate if Israel is included in the competition because of the “horrifying” and “severe” loss of life and human suffering in Gaza.

The connection between Israel and Spain has been fragile since the end of 2023, when Sanchez expressed concerns about the death of civilians in Gaza and some members of his government at that time called on diplomatic relations to be destroyed.

In 2024, Spain joined Norway and Ireland, recognizing a Palestinian state and last week Sanchez accused Israel in genocide and announced a series of measures against him, including a weapon embargo.

The Israeli Saar responded, accusing the Sanchez administration of being anti -Semitic and using “wild and hateful rhetoric”.

A recent poll of the Brain Trust of the Royal Institute in Elkano indicated that at least 82% of the Spaniards believe that the genocide is being carried out in gas.

Two days after Sanchez’s announcement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the suspension of free trade and bilateral support with Israel as she spoke of a “human -created hunger” in Gaza.

Von der Leyen also mourned what she called the “painful” inability of Europe to find an adequate response to Israel’s actions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that the hunger is happening in Gaza and said that where there is hunger, it is the fault of the agencies for help and Hamas.

Israel has accused international aid agencies such as the UN for not taking help waiting at the border of Gaza, pointing to the hundreds of trucks sitting idle.

In August, UN-Poddated Food Monitor, IPC, confirmed that hunger is held in parts of GazaS Israel is accused of causing hunger by continuing restrictions on food and medical care entering the territory.

Israel controls all border crossings in the Gaza Strip and since the occupation power is responsible for the protection of civil life according to international law, which involves hunger prevention.

Israel began its Gaza war in response to the Hamas attack on South Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 64,871 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry in the territory.