Madrid furious over ‘scandalous’ Israeli video comparing flamenco with Hamas killings

6 months ago 17

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Sunday strongly criticised a video posted the same day by his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz on X, featuring two flamenco dancers interspersed with images of Hamas terrorist attacks and a direct message to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The controversial video is a bitterly ironic political attack by Tel Aviv on Spain over Madrid’s decision on Tuesday to join Norway and Ireland in recognising Palestinian statehood.

“I find the video scandalous and execrable. It is scandalous because it is known to everyone, especially to my Israeli colleague (Katz), that the Spanish government has condemned Hamas terrorism from the first moment and in all its actions,” Albares (PSOE/S&D) stressed at a press conference in Brussels together with the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamad Mustafa, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.

The 18-second video begins with images of the Spanish flag and the subtitle: “Hamas: Thank you, Spain”, accompanied by flamenco music in the background and images of Hamas terrorists brandishing weapons or shooting.

The video also contains images of the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on 7 October at a techno music festival in Israel, near the Gaza Strip.

“I have said it many times, and I say it again here today: the people of Israel are friendly people to the Spanish people, and Israel, of course, has the right to have its own state,” commented Albares.

Despite the pressure, the minister reiterated that Spain will recognise Palestinian statehood on Tuesday as planned, along with Norway and Ireland, as Sánchez announced in parliament last week. In this context, the senior official insisted on Sunday that no one would force Spain to change its original plans.

“Nobody is going to bully us into it,” Albares warned.

Diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel deteriorated sharply after members of the progressive Sumar platform, a junior partner in Sánchez’s coalition government, accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, including Deputy Prime Minister and Sumar leader Yolanda Díaz.

Although socialist members of the government have not been as vocal in public as Sumar, on Saturday, Defence Minister Margarita Robles (PSOE) also used the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s military operation.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)