Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has claimed that Israeli and Russian "networks" were behind the “disinformation” that helped trigger last month's mass migrant crossing into the North African territory of Ceuta.
In an interview with Cadena SER, Sánchez claimed research from the EU's foreign policy arm, the European External Action Service, showed social networks linked to Moscow and Jerusalem, working alongside "an ultra-right international," had spread false claims about the crisis.
Chief among them, he suggested, was the notion that a recent supreme court decision in Spain had meant that migrants who entered the enclave, which is an autonomous Spanish territory, could not legally be deported.
The ruling had, in fact, stated that the process for deporting migrants who cross a border by land is separate from the one required when they cross by sea.
This was distorted as a ruling that those who crossed by sea could remain in Spain indefinitely by people smuggling gangs looking to exploit the fact that the border fence between Ceuta and Morocco can be circumvented by swimming around the land border.
Following the spread of the misrepresentation, at least 72,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, though the vast majority have since returned after discovering that they were still eligible for deportation and that entry into the enclave does not guarantee border-free travel into Europe.
Sánchez went on to suggest both Russia and Israel had exploited the crisis as a way to attack his socialist government over Madrid's positions "regarding the genocide in Gaza" and Russia's war in Ukraine.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Sánchez of "lying shamelessly," branding the claim "a brazen lie". The Kremlin also denied any role in whipping up the crisis.
Notably, Sánchez carefully avoided blaming Morocco and rejected any speculation that its government was involved, insisting that Spanish intelligence had not raised "any doubt" about Moroccan involvement.
His comments come amid a deterioration in relations between Spain and Israel, dating back to the start of the Gaza War in 2023.
Sánchez’ government has been heavily critical of the IDF’s operations in the Strip, accusing it of carrying out a genocide of the Palestinian people.
Back in March, Madrid withdrew its ambassador to Israel in March, having already enforced an arms embargo and recognised a Palestinian state.
Domestically, the accusation arrives just as Sánchez faces sharp criticism over his own handling of the border crisis, with a poll for El Mundo finding that 82.2 per cent of Spaniards believe his government has not done enough in response to the crossing.
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