Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded sharply Sunday to Spanish police violence against terror flotilla activists who returned to their country. In a dressing-down, Ambassador Yossi Amrani told the Spanish representative: “You rush to condemn Israel for self-defense, but stay silent when your officers use brutal force in Bilbao.”
During the meeting, Amrani accused the Spanish government of what he called “pure hypocrisy.” He emphasized that Spain leads an aggressive line against Israel and rushes to condemn every legal action to maintain the naval blockade on Gaza, yet chooses silence when human rights are violated on its own soil.
“We demanded to understand why Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, or any of his ministers, didn’t see fit to condemn the severe police violence—nearly 24 hours after the incident,” the Foreign Ministry said. “They rush to condemn Israel at every opportunity, but when the harsh images come from a Spanish airport, the silence is deafening.”
Amrani made clear in the conversation that while Israel dealt with violent, organized provocations from hundreds of participants in the last six flotillas, it showed far more restraint than Spanish police displayed toward a handful of activists in Bilbao. The Israeli move is a deliberate jab, after Israeli ambassadors in Madrid were summoned repeatedly in recent years for similar reprimands, with claims that Israel “beat” the terror activists on the ships’ decks. Now Israel is using the same diplomatic tools to embarrass the government in Madrid.
Another central element of the conversation touched on Spain’s lenient handling of terror elements operating on its territory. Amrani demanded the representative explain why the Spanish government refuses to act against Saif Abu Kashak, a Spanish citizen and central flotilla activist whose photos from the airport confrontations circulated online. Abu Kashak is identified as having proven ties to the murderous terror organization Hamas, and just last week the U.S. administration imposed official sanctions on him for his involvement in financing and aiding terror. Israel views with severity the fact that such an activist walks free and receives de facto protection from Spanish authorities.
The incidents at Bilbao airport included severe physical confrontations after the activists and their supporters blocked passenger traffic in the terminal. Local police, who didn’t show the patience their government expects from Israel, drew batons and forcibly took control of the protesters—an incident that ended with four arrests.