Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez sparked outrage in Jerusalem when he referred to Israel as a "genocidal state" during a debate in his country’s legislature.
The Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday evening that, in response to the statement, Spain’s ambassador to Israel, Ana Salomon, has been summoned for a reprimand.
Sánchez, one of Israel’s fiercest critics in Europe, was responding to an anti-Israel parliamentarian who accused his government of maintaining trade relations with what he called a "genocidal state." Sánchez reinforced the remarks and even elaborated on them.
This marks the second diplomatic incident on Wednesday. Earlier, Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema, accused Israel of "genocide" and called on the Dutch government to condemn "human rights violations" in Gaza.
Israel’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Modi Ephraim, reacted with fury, calling the remarks a "blood libel."
"I am deeply shocked by the statement made by the mayor. Her words not only distort reality but also ignore the suffering of Israeli victims and the context in which this war occurred," said Ephraim.
"She forgot to mention Hamas’s atrocities and ignored the rampant antisemitism in Amsterdam itself," he added.