Israel summons Spanish envoy after minister's Palestinian state slogan

Israel has summoned the Spanish Embassy's charge d'affaires over remarks by Spain's youth minister, while a separate diplomatic row has opened with the Netherlands after Israel announced the expulsion of Dutch diplomats from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The move involving Spain followed Youth Minister Sira Rego's public support for a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea", a slogan that implies a call for the elimination of the Israeli state. In the case of the Netherlands, Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said he "deeply regrets this unnecessary decision" after Israel said Dutch diplomats in Ramallah would be expelled within a week.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Rego's remarks were "part of a systematic anti-Israel policy pursued by the Spanish government" and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. It also said Rego had chosen not to condemn the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza. Rego was barred from entering Israel in September 2025.

In the dispute with the Netherlands, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that the decision to expel Dutch diplomats was in response to a Dutch ban that took effect on September 22 on the "import, purchase and sale of goods" originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Netherlands, along with many in the international community, considers such goods illegal. In a statement on Monday, the Dutch foreign minister said the temporary import ban was not directed against Israel, but that it "stems from an obligation under international law not to contribute to an unlawful situation - namely, the illegal settlements".

The developments marked two separate diplomatic disputes for Israel, one over remarks by a Spanish minister on Palestinian statehood and another over a Dutch ban on settlement goods that led to the expulsion of diplomats from Ramallah.

With PTI Inputs

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