Israeli Foreign Minister Katz told Spain that his consulate in Jerusalem was not allowed to assist Palestinians.
At the identical time, Spanish EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell campaigned vigorously for the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is looking for an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other individuals, including the leaders of Hamas.
“The prosecutor of the court was massively intimidated and accused of anti-Semitism,” said Borrell. “The word ‘anti-Semitism’ is too heavy. It is too important.”
There were many offended words on Monday. Katz accused Spain of “rewarding terror” by recognizing a Palestinian state and said “the days of the Inquisition are over,” referring to the notorious Spanish institution founded within the fifteenth century to uphold Roman Catholic orthodoxy and compelled Jews and Muslims to flee, convert to Catholicism, or in some cases die.
“No one will force us to change our beliefs or threaten our existence – whoever harms us, we will harm in return,” Katz said.
Although the EU and its member states categorically condemned the October 7 Hamas-led attack by which militants crossed the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage, the bloc was equally critical of Israel’s subsequent offensive, which killed greater than 35,000 Palestinians, in accordance with the Gaza Health Ministry.
The latest attacks focused on Rafah, where Palestinian medical examiners said Israeli airstrikes had killed at the least 35 people Sunday, Tents of displaced people were hit and “numerous” others were trapped in burning rubble.
The highest court of the UNthe International Court of Justice on Friday demanded that Israel immediately halt its offensive on Rafah, even when it didn’t go to date as to order a ceasefire for the Gaza enclave.
“Israel must stop its offensive in Rafah,” said Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.
Spain, Ireland and non-EU member Norway plan to make their recognition of a Palestinian state official on Tuesday. Their joint announcement last week sparked a furious response from Israeli authorities, who summoned the countries’ ambassadors in Tel Aviv to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, where they were filmed being shown videos of the October 7 Hamas attack and kidnapping.
Albares criticized the way in which the ambassadors were treated. “We reject anything that is not within the framework of diplomatic courtesy and the customs of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” he said.
“But at the same time, we also agreed that we will not give in to any provocation that takes us away from our goal,” he added. “Our goal is to recognize the State of Palestine tomorrow, to make every possible effort to achieve a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible and, ultimately, to achieve final peace.”
