Spain styles itself as Israel's most fervent adversary, but its sanctions are far from comprehensive Submitted by Ana Maria Monjardino on Mon, 07/06/2026 - 15:00 Madrid, like Colombia and South Africa, has found that despite strong vocal opposition to the Gaza genocide, it has been unable to follow through on its rhetoric Protesters hold Palestinian flags and banners during a demonstration against the participation of Israeli basketball team Hapoel IBI Tel-Aviv in the Euroleague, ahead of their match against Valencia Basket, in Valencia, Spain, 15 October 2025 (Jose Jordan/AFP) Off As criticism of  Israel’s genocide continues in Gaza and governments across the Americas and Europe have remained largely muted, Spain has stepped into the vacuum as one of the most vocal critics of the country in the West. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for multilateral measures to end the arms trade with Israel, including a push to suspend the EU–Israel Association Agreement. It is also the only EU country to have formally recalled its ambassador and, back in October 2023, announced it was halting arms sales to the country.