The president of Vox, Santiago Abascal, traveled to Israel this Tuesday to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The leader of the extreme right attended the meeting on the same day that Spain announced the recognition of the Palestinian State and just 48 hours after a new massacre in the Gaza Strip, this time in the Rafah refugee camp, where at least 45 people died.
A few hours after the Council of Ministers in which the Government took the step announced a week ago, the far-right party has released a statement accompanied by a photograph between Abascal and Netanyahu. In the note, the group has assured that Abascal has praised the “firmness” of his country against Hamas to the Israeli president, at the same time that he has criticized the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, for recognizing Palestine.
In the meeting, which lasted more than an hour in the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, as reported by Vox, Abascal conveyed to Netanyahu his party’s support for the people of Israel, which it recognizes “the right to defend itself.” and has pointed out that Pedro Sánchez does not represent Spain.
As reported by Vox, Abascal has denounced that the President of the Government is “covering his cases of political and economic corruption with the recognition of the Palestinian State” and with the “attacks” on the President of Argentina, Javier Milei. The Vox leader has assured that “as long as there is only one hostage in the hands of Hamas” and “until the terrorist organization disappears”, no government nor “no one has the right to ask Israel to renounce its self-defense operations.”
From Vox they have also pointed out that the Israeli prime minister has described as “exemplary” the defense of the State of Israel by Abascal, who has already visited Israel twice during the war in the Gaza Strip, and has lamented the “immense intoxication.” that dominates media coverage of the conflict in Western countries.”
Abascal has traveled to Israel accompanied by some of his collaborators. Also in the delegation was the president of the Disenso Foundation, Jorge Martín Frías, as well as the MEP Hermann Tertsch and the person in charge of international relations for Vox, Gabriel Ariza, as explained by the party itself.
This is not the first time that Vox has shown its strong sympathy with the Government of Israel despite international criticism for its attacks against Gaza. On May 18, the Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combat against Anti-Semitism, Amichai Chikli, participated in the event organized by Vox, Europa Viva 24, along with other politicians from the international far-right such as the president of Argentina, Javier Milei .
Government criticism of the trip
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has assured on the 24-hour TVE channel that Abascal “embraces the policy of hoaxes and falsehoods of the most extreme elements of the Netanyahu Government.” “Not only is it not in the consensus of Spanish society, but it is also not with peace or even the slightest humanity,” Albares criticized about Abascal’s trip to Israel. The criticism has also been extended to the PP. According to Albares, the main opposition party has returned “to its origins, to ignoring the most basic aspects of international law”, while recalling that the PP “voted in favor of the recognition of Palestine in 2014”.
“Abascal’s photo will haunt him all his life and Feijó’s silence will haunt his,” said the second vice president of the Government and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, through X. Díaz has been the focus of Israel’s criticism in the last days for the use of the slogan “from the river to the sea,” a phrase that the Jewish State has censored as an anti-Semitic attack.
Abascal’s trip to Palestine comes at a time of maximum international questioning towards Israel since the offensive against Gaza began after the Hamas attacks last October. Since then, more than 36,000 civilians have died as a result of Israel’s attacks on Palestinian territory. Criticism has increased in recent days following new military movements against the attack on a refugee camp in Rafah.
In recent weeks, there have also been two decisions against Israel by different international organizations. On the one hand, the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu, his Defense Minister and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. On the other hand, the UN Tribunal, the International Court of Justice, demanded that Israel not attack Rafah, something that ended up happening a few hours later.
Ireland and Norway have joined Spain in recognizing the Palestinian State. A recognition that, in the Spanish case, means designating East Jerusalem as the capital of the country and recovering the borders marked by the UN resolutions in 1967. However, this recognition, supported by the Government’s partners in Congress, has been rejected by the opposition of the PP and Vox itself, which has now staged it with the trip to Palestine.
This decision has caused an increase in diplomatic tension with various attacks launched by the Israeli Executive. The Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, accused the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, this Tuesday of being “complicit in inciting the murder of the Jewish people” for recognizing the Palestinian State and for not stopping Vice President Yolanda Díaz when she said that “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”
In a message on the social network and with the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
The Spanish Government has responded to these criticisms by claiming that “no one is going to intimidate us”, in the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. The head of Spanish diplomacy urged Israel this Monday to comply with the order of the International Court to stop the attacks in Rafah.
Source: www.eldiario.es
