Spain has officially dismissed its ambassador to Israel, further worsening already strained diplomatic relations after she had been recalled six months ago amid tensions over the war in Gaza, according to a decree published on Wednesday.
Ana María Salomón was formally removed from her post on Tuesday following a proposal by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. The decision was confirmed in a decree signed by King Felipe VI and published in the official state gazette. ALSO READ: Felipe VI denounces ‘unspeakable suffering’ and ‘total devastation’ of Gaza.
Salomón had been recalled from Tel Aviv in September after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a series of measures intended to halt what he described as ‘genocide’ in Gaza, where Israel launched a devastating military campaign following the 2023 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. ALSO READ (Nov 2023): Israel recalls Spanish ambassador after ‘outrageous remarks’ by Pedro Sánchez.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Sánchez of antisemitism and prohibited two of the Spanish leader’s ministers from entering Israel, pushing already fragile relations between the two countries to a new low. ALSO READ: Spain asks to join South Africa’s case at UN court accusing Israel of genocide.
Israel had already withdrawn its ambassador from Madrid in 2024 after Spain recognised Palestinian statehood. Since then, Israel’s diplomatic presence in Spain has been limited to a charge d’affaires. ALSO READ: Sánchez demands end to ‘barbarism’ in Gaza and calls for Palestine’s full UN membership.
Sánchez, among the most outspoken European critics of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, has also opposed the joint US-Israeli campaign against Iran that began on 28 February. ALSO READ: Spain rejects ‘unilateral military action by US & Israel’, but also ‘actions of Iranian regime’.
(Main image: Benjamin Netanyahu and Pedro Sánchez meeting in Israel in November 2023 / Moncloa)
ALSO READ: Netanyahu accuses Sánchez of ‘blatant genocidal threat’ against Israel.
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