Israel has accused the Spanish government of “inciting hatred” after a giant effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up in a Spanish town.
The effigy had been created as part of the Easter celebrations in El Burgo, a small town near the southern city of Malaga.
The seven-metre figure was packed with 14 kg of gunpowder and ignited.
"The appalling antisemitic hatred on display here is a direct result of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government's systemic incitement," Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X.
Israel said on Saturday it had reprimanded Spain's most senior diplomat in Tel Aviv over the incident.
El Burgo's Mayor Narvaez told the press the town had previously used effigies of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the annual event.
The appalling antisemitic hatred on display here is a direct result of @sanchezcastejon government’s systemic incitement.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) April 11, 2026
And even now, the Spanish government remains silent.
The Spanish chargé d’affaires was summoned for a reprimand. pic.twitter.com/2Bguhs7Ce8
It came as Israel notified Spain on Friday that its military contingent would no longer take part in the international Civil Military Coordination Centre in Kiryat Gat.
The CMCC was established to secure the truce in Gaza as part of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the region.
“The State of Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained the decision in a recorded video posted on X.
“Spain has slandered our heroes, Israel Defence Forces soldiers, the soldiers of the most moral army in the world,” he said. “Therefore, I have instructed that Spain’s representatives be removed from the coordination centre in Kiryat Gat, after Spain has repeatedly chosen to stand against Israel.
“Whoever attacks the State of Israel instead of the terror regimes—whoever does so — will not be our partner regarding the future of the region. I will not tolerate this hypocrisy and this hostility. I do not intend to allow any country to wage a diplomatic war against us without paying an immediate price,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar charged the Spanish government with levelling “false blood libels” against the Jewish state and the IDF.
Madrid had attempted and failed to harm Israel via diplomatic channels, in particular by seeking European Union sanctions, he tweeted.
During the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, the Spanish government also acted against the interests of Israel and America, he added.
“Spain’s obsessive anti-Israel bias under [Minister Pedro] Sánchez’s leadership is so egregious that it has lost all capability to serve a constructive role in implementing [Trump’s] peace plan and the centre operating under it,” Sa’ar said.
On Thursday, Israel’s top diplomat condemned Spain’s decision to reopen its embassy in Tehran, accusing Madrid of aligning itself with “the Iranian terror regime”.
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced the move earlier in the day, saying the country hoped “to achieve peace in the region.” Albares said he had instructed Spain’s ambassador to return to Tehran and resume duties “from every possible quarter, including from the Iranian capital itself.”
Sa’ar wrote on X that Iran was “resuming the execution of its citizens, protesters and political dissidents,” calling Madrid’s decision “an eternal disgrace.”
Responding to the El Burgo incident, a Spanish Foreign Ministry source told Reuters: "The Spanish government is committed to fighting against antisemitism and any form of hate or discrimination. As such we totally reject any insidious allegation which suggests the contrary."
Written with Jewish News Syndicate
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