Spain is reporting Wednesday that, after senior officials blamed Israel for spreading disinformation about the migration crisis in Ceuta, an intelligence report from the country’s border and immigration police unit points instead to Morocco. According to the report, which was submitted to Spain’s National Court in Madrid, the mass entry into the Spanish enclave at the end of July was a planned operation in which Moroccan forces directed migrants toward the border. This is according to El Español.
1+According to the report, Moroccan police managed the flow of crowds and directed migrants to areas from which they could enter Spanish territory. At the same time, plainclothes operatives supervised the scene and passed instructions to Moroccan security personnel. Spanish police reject the possibility that this was a spontaneous event caused only by smuggler activity or calls on social media.
The report claims the operation’s goal was broader than just migration, and included an attempt to overwhelm Spain’s border control system and damage Spanish response capabilities. The report also links the incident to Morocco’s territorial claims regarding Ceuta and Melilla.
1+Reports also show that roughly 90% of those who entered Spanish territory on July 30 and 31 returned to Morocco within a short time. The report cites this figure as one of the signs supporting the conclusion that this was not a spontaneous migration wave, though the return rate alone does not prove the incident was planned.
The disclosure takes on special significance against the backdrop of accusations leveled in Spain against Israel over the crisis. Now, following the report’s exposure, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has demanded that the national police chief clarify whether the information is accurate and how long police have had it.