Foreign Minister Israel Katz has slammed Spain's prime minister after his Socialist-led government suffered a defeat in the European Parliament election, suggesting it was "punishment" for his recognition of a Palestinian state and anti-Israel efforts at the International Court of Justice.
The people of Spain have punished Pedro Sanchez and Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz for "embracing Hamas murderers and rapists," which "doesn't pay off," Katz wrote on X, with an AI-generated image of the two lawmakers covered in eggs attached.
The Spanish people have punished @sanchezcastejon and @Yolanda_Diaz_ coalition with a resounding defeat in the elections.
It turns out that embracing Hamas murderers and rapists doesn't pay off.@NunezFeijoo @Santi_ABASCAL pic.twitter.com/zqTXVhar6Q
— ישראל כ"ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 10, 2024
Spain's Center-Right People's Party came out on top in Sunday's election, garnering 22 seats out of the 61 allocated to the country – dealing a blow to the prime minister. Sanchez' Socialists earned 20 seats after a campaign in which the opposition honed in on private corruption allegations against his wife and an amnesty law for Catalan pro-independence leaders passed just one week before the election. Far-right Vox, whose leader criticized Sánchez over Palestinian state recognition, finished third with six lawmakers, up from the four it had in the previous legislature.
Spain has faced a host of controversies since the Palestinian state recognition, including its own diplomats stationed in Israel refusing to move to work in Ramallah, the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, due to concerns about "quality of life and security."
